Partners in Love
by SeraphAngel
Summary: In Transfiguration class, Professor McGonagall makes a surprising announcement—this year, the sixth years will be working as partners! Lily gets paired with James for the whole year and, well, you can guess what happens… —No longer follows canon—
1. What?

Author's Note: Hmm… My fourth _Harry Potter_ fic, third Lily/James fic… Yes, once again, a stupid title… This story doesn't focus on only Lily/James (my other fics were supposed to, but they ended up not focusing on them…). So anyway, just read on and you'll see what happens, of course… This chapter's just to set the stage, so bear with me.

Title: Partners in Love  
Rating: PG  
Spoilers: _Prisoner of Azkaban _and_ Goblet of Fire_, but just a little bit.  
Summary: In Transfiguration class, Professor McGonagall makes a surprising announcement—this year, the sixth years will be working as partners! Lily gets paired with James for the whole year and, well, you can guess what happens…  
Disclaimer: Nope! Not me! I don't own anything except for the non-famous stuff.  
Setting: This story is set in Lily and James's days at Hogwarts. It starts out in their fifth year and continues from there.

--- - setting change  
_italics_ - emphasis

-What?-

Sirius Black, a handsome boy with dark hair and dark eyes, came into the fifth year boys' dorm room, looking very pleased with himself. A boy with sandy brown hair and light brown eyes, otherwise known as Remus Lupin, looked up from the book he was reading and said, "All right, Padfoot, it's Monday. Who's the girl of the week?"

"Allegra Foster. Fourth year."

James Potter, who had jet-black hair and hazel eyes, shook his head. "A new girl every week—I don't understand how you can even keep their names straight."

"Yeah," Remus said, "how are you ever going to find that 'special someone' if you don't stay with a girl long enough to really get to know her?"

"Hey, Allegra's special," Sirius retorted. "Who knows? I might even give her two weeks."

James threw a pillow at him.

---

"Stupid Potter," Lily Evans muttered, trying to get some disgusting-looking gunk out of her dark red hair. She plopped down on her bed. "He's so immature."

Alyssa Parker, one of Lily's best friends, looked up from her Transfiguration book. "I told you not to give him a reason, but you just _had_ to retaliate. If you show him that you're annoyed, he'll just keep bothering you." She twirled a strand of her shoulder-length brown hair around her finger. "Why do you always let him get to you?"

"Because she's secretly attracted to him," a girl with long, wavy, reddish-brown hair said from across the room, giggling.

"I am not!" Lily answered vehemently. "And you shouldn't go around saying things like that, Danielle—unless you want me to tell _Kendall Wexler_ you fancy him," she stated, an evil glint in her eye.

Danielle Phillips's light brown eyes went wide. "You wouldn't," she gasped.

"Yes, she would," Alyssa replied, turning a page in her book.

"All right, I take it back!" the fifteen-year-old shouted, seeing Lily heading for the door to the staircase that led to the common room.

The redhead smiled triumphantly and went back to her bed.

Melanie Daniels walked into the dorm room. "Hi, Lily, Alyssa, Danielle." Melanie was Lily and Alyssa's other best friend and a generally shy person. Her dark blond hair was a little bit longer than Alyssa's.

"Hey, Mel," Lily and Danielle greeted her. Alyssa didn't say anything.

"Alyssa?"

"Hmm? Oh, hi, Mel."

"What's got you so distracted?" Lily asked.

"I was just thinking about—" The brunette stopped talking and blushed.

Lily grinned. "I see. Can't stop thinking about Adam, huh?" she asked, referring to the seventh year boy her friend had a crush on.

"Shut up."

---

Kendall Wexler walked into the fifth year boys' dormitory and dropped his belongings on his bed. "Hey, Pete," he said to the short blond boy in the room. Kendall had dark brown hair and blue-green eyes. He shared a room with the Marauders, but he couldn't help feeling that he was being left out of something. They all seemed to be much better friends with each other than with him. It didn't bother him much, since he had friends in other Houses, but every once in a while, he would get that feeling.

James ran into the room. "Hide me!" he whispered frantically.

Kendall helped get the black-haired boy under Remus's bed.

"Potter!" an angry female voice yelled. "Where are you?!"

"We told you already—he didn't come up here!" Sirius's frantic words could be heard through the door.

"Lily—" Remus's muffled voice was cut off as the furious girl kicked open the door.

"Where is he?" she demanded, her emerald green eyes blazing in fury.

"Who?" Kendall asked innocently.

Lily almost spit out the name. "Potter."

"Oh, well, I haven't seen him since this morning," Kendall said in an innocent tone of voice. "What about you, Peter?"

The other boy shook his head.

"Fine," Lily said. "He lives—for now. He's dead the next time I see him," she finished dangerously. As she passed Sirius and Remus on the way down to the common room, Sirius opened his mouth to speak, but she silenced him. "Sirius, I do _not _want to hear any stupid excuses."

When he was sure it was safe, James slid out from under the bed and brushed himself off. "Thanks, Ken."

"No problem. What did you do to her, anyway?"

"Oh, the usual, just with a little twist."

---

"I can't believe him!" Lily exploded, entering her room.

"What happened this time?" Victoria Arlington, a blue-eyed elegant beauty, her other roommate and Danielle's best friend, asked. She put down the brush that she had been using to untangle her long, black hair.

"I don't want to relive it. I might tell you all later."

---

Lawrence, Alyssa's older brother, entered the common room from the boys' dormitories. "Alyssa," he called.

"What?" Alyssa had been reading a novel in the Gryffindor common room for the past hour.

"Go to bed. It's late."

"_You're_ still up," she pointed out.

"I'm older than you," replied the tall, brown-haired boy.

"Only by a year."

"Whatever. Just go."

"Fine, Mr. Bossy Pants," she muttered, getting up.

"I heard that!"

---

"Jeez. We're going to be taking our O.W.L.s in a few days. Time _does_ fly when you're having fun," Danielle mused.

"Ooh. It's almost the end of the year. You know what that means, Alyssa?" Lily asked.

"What?"

"It means you won't see Adam anymore," she teased.

"Shut up."

Melanie sighed. "I am having the hardest time with Transfiguration."

Victoria replied, "You should probably ask someone for help."

"Vicky, I hate to admit that he's better than me at something, but that's Potter's best subject," Lily said to her. "And Black's a close second. You want _Melanie_ to ask those goons for help?"

"Pretty much."

"You are so weird."

Meanwhile, Melanie was headed downstairs. She spotted Sirius Black sitting by himself at a table—a rare occurrence, since he was almost always with at least one other Marauder (or his current girlfriend). This time around, his "girl of the week" was in Hufflepuff, so she wasn't in the Gryffindor common room.

"Sirius?" she called timidly.

The now sixteen-year-old boy looked up. "Hi, Melanie," he said, smiling.

"Er, O.W.L.s are coming up soon, and I'm having trouble with Transfiguration, so—"

Sirius smiled charmingly at her. "I am pretty good at the subject, if I do say so myself. Would you like some help?"

The blonde nodded.

---

"Hey, Alyssa," Remus said, trying to catch up to the young witch. They had just taken their Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L.

The brunette turned to face him. "Hi, Remus."

"How do you think you did?"

"Oh, all right, I guess. Did you get those werewolf questions?"

"Yeah," Remus said, looking at his feet. "I think I got all of them right," he continued (looking a bit sad).

The two started walking toward Gryffindor Tower. Alyssa accidentally dropped a book when they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. Remus bent to pick it up. He started to hand it to her, but pulled his arm back a little when he saw the cover. "I've read this book before. It's good."

Alyssa took it from him and answered, "Yeah, I know. I'm about halfway through it."

"You like to read?" he asked, stepping into the common room.

"Yeah. A lot. It's fun for me."

Remus smiled. "Me too. Have you read this book by—um—Oh, I can't remember the author's name…"

---

The Hogwarts Express had just arrived at Platform 9¾ to take Lily Evans and her friends back to Hogwarts to begin their sixth year of training in witchcraft.

Lily had been looking around for her friends when she spotted a familiar blond head in the crowd. "Hey, Melanie!" she called out.

Melanie's dark blue eyes pinpointed Lily's location. She moved through the throng of parents and students toward the redhead and inadvertently came across Victoria and Danielle. "Hey, Vicky, Dani."

"Hi."

"Hey, Mel."

"Come on, Lily's over there."

---

Alyssa opened the door to a compartment. "There you are. I've been looking all over for you," she said, sitting down next to Melanie.

The door opened again, revealing a handsome boy with blue-green eyes. "Hi. Sorry," Kendall Wexler said, closing it, "I was just looking for somewhere to sit."

"You can sit here if you want," Lily offered.

"Thanks."

---

"Hey," Alyssa said to Lily and Melanie, spotting Remus getting off the train, "I'll see you at the Sorting, okay? I'm just gonna go—" She started walking toward the boy with light brown hair without finishing her sentence.

"What was that about?"

"Don't know."

---

"Remus." 

The sixteen-year-old boy whirled around to find that he was looking into a pair of bright hazel-colored eyes. He smiled. "Hello, Alyssa."

"Hi. Did you read that book I sent you?"

"Yeah. I liked it. My favorite part was when—" He and Alyssa started walking toward a horseless carriage, leaving three very confused-looking Marauders behind.

---

Since Alyssa had gone off with Remus, Lily, Melanie, Danielle, and Victoria shared a carriage without her.

"You what?" Danielle exclaimed. "You _sat_ next to Kendall? Oh, you're so lucky."

Lily answered, "Danielle, _I'm _not the one who likes him. I didn't think I was lucky."

"Oh, but you are. You are _so_ lucky."

---

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The sixth years clapped and cheered as a smiling first year girl ran to sit at the long table. The Sorting ended and the feast began.

"So who's your next target, Padfoot?" James asked his best friend.

"Tara Small. Ravenclaw," Sirius said between bites.

"Someday, you're going to have to settle for one girl."

"Like you will with Lily?" Sirius teased.

James threw a dinner roll at him.

---

Professor Minerva McGonagall stood in front of her class of sixth year Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors on the first day of classes. "Attention, please," she declared loudly. "This year each of you will be paired with someone else in the class. That person is whom you will be working with to complete several projects that I will assign over the course of the year. Now," she said, moving her gaze up and down the rows of students, counting in her head, "since there are as many boys as girls in this class, the partnerships will be boy/girl."

The Marauders groaned. How could they create mischief if they weren't partnered with each other?

The professor glared at the four young wizards before speaking again. "Mr. Black, you will be partnered with… Miss Daniels. Mr. Wexler, you will be Miss Phillips's partner. Remus Lupin and Alyssa Parker, you will works together. Victoria Arlington, your partner is Mr. Pettigrew. And Mr. Potter, you and Miss Evans are partners."

Lily's mouth dropped open in shock as the adult witch went on to pair up the Hufflepuffs.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: Interesting? Yes, no? Suggestions? Review? Yeah? Please? Thank you?


	2. Partners?

Author's Note: Well, um… here's chapter 2…

Title: Partners in Love

Rating: PG

Spoilers: As always, _Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire_, but just a little bit. 

Summary: In Transfiguration class, Lily gets paired with James for the whole year and, well, you can guess what happens…

Disclaimer: Nope! Not me! I don't own anything except for… the non-famous stuff.

Setting: This story is set in Lily and James's days at Hogwarts. It starts out in 5th year.

*** = setting change

__

italics = emphasis

~Partners?~

"Professor McGonagall!" Lily called loudly. "Um, is there some mistake? I _cannot_ be paired with Potter. I can't!"

"And why not, Miss Evans?" the stern-looking witch asked.

"Because—because I hate him!" 

"There will be no switching of partners without good reason. And that, Miss Evans, is not a good reason." The professor turned to address the rest of the class. "Now, would you all please sit by your partners."

Several students got up and switched places with each other. 

Lily sat down in the chair Sirius had just vacated and looked at James with disgust. "You know I hate you, right?"

"Yes, I do. You know I hate _you_, right?"

"Yeah." 

"Well, now that we're clear on who hates who here…"

Lily glared at him, fury evident in her emerald-colored eyes. 

*** 

"Hey, partner," Sirius said, plopping down in the seat that Lily had been sitting in just moments before. 

"Hi," Melanie replied. She smiled a little, then looked down at her hands, her shy nature taking over. 

*** 

Peter sat down in Danielle's empty seat and smiled slightly at Victoria. 

She smiled back at him, then looked away, wondering why Lawrence Parker couldn't be in the same year as she was. 

*** 

Alyssa slid into the seat next to Remus and grinned at him. Somehow, with Remus as her partner, she didn't feel that losing Adam was so bad after all. 

Remus stared at his partner, trying to figure out why he was doing it in the first place. He couldn't help it—she was so pretty—wait, what was he thinking? Alyssa was his friend; he didn't like her like that—did he? 

*** 

Danielle moved into Alyssa's previous seat. "Hey, Kendall."

"Hi."

Danielle smiled at him, silently thanking her Transfiguration professor for pairing her with her crush.

*** 

McGonagall started speaking again. "You _will_ be required to spend time with your partner outside of class—that is, _if_ you want to receive passing marks. There will be no switching of partners. The only exception is if you bring it up with me and I decide that you have a valid reason. Any questions?"

No one raised a hand. 

"Very well. Here is your first assignment." McGonagall began explaining the sixth years' first project. 

*** 

That night, five pairs of sixteen-year-old Gryffindors were in the common room, planning out their first assignment. 

"I can't believe she's making us do work on our first day back," Sirius complained. "It's probably only because of what I did the day we left for the summer."

"I told you not to pull a prank like that, but you just _had_ to do it," Remus replied from the other side of the room. 

"Whatever, Moony." Sirius turned to his Transfiguration partner. "I guess we should get started, huh?"

Melanie nodded. 

"Okay, so, we have to turn this quill into a bird?"

"Yes."

"What kind of bird?"

"Whatever you want."

"Can we turn it into a purple bird?"

"Why would you want it to be purple?" Melanie asked, puzzled. 

"I don't know. Most birds aren't purple."

"Oh."

"Yep."

"We can make it a purple bird."

"Really?"

"Sure."

"You are very cool."

Melanie smiled. "Thanks," she said quietly. 

*** 

"No, Potter, we are _not_ going to make it look like a flying elephant!" Lily shouted. 

"Why not?" James asked. 

"Because it's _stupid_, that's why!"

"But—"

"I don't care how much you want to make an impact, this is my project too, and I am not going to let you ruin it!"

He sighed. "Fine. We'll just make it a regular, boring bird."

*** 

"So we should get started, shouldn't we?" Victoria said, turning to look at Peter, who nodded. "What color should it be?"

"Um… green?"

*** 

"How big should it be?" Alyssa asked Remus, getting down to business. 

"Um, I guess about this big," he replied, gesturing to show her. 

"Okay. What, um… color?" 

"Hmm… Can we make it… rainbow-ish?"

Alyssa laughed. "Sure, Remus."

*** 

Danielle pushed her hair away from her face and tried to concentrate on the assignment she was supposed to be working on. 

"No!"

"Why not?"

"NO! I said no, and I mean it, James Potter! I am not letting you ruin this project!"

"Yeah, well, I bet once it becomes a bird, it'll die when it sees your face!"

"You're infuriating!"

"That's just fine with me!"

Danielle glanced at her partner. "You know, it's really hard to concentrate with them arguing like that."

Kendall looked up from his Transfiguration book and smiled. "Yeah, I don't know if they hate each other or really like each other."

"I bet it's the second one." 

"I heard that!" Lily said. 

*** 

Professor McGonagall stared at Sirius and Melanie's finished project. It was by far the strangest bird in the class. It was bright purple. It was roughly ostrich-sized. It looked like a giant cockatoo from the neck up. It had the great big eyes of an owl. From the neck down, it looked like a penguin with parrot tail feathers. 

"I wanted to put a pelican's bill on it, but we decided not to," Sirius told McGonagall cheerfully. 

"Oh," was all she could say. The professor looked at Melanie, who looked at the bird and smiled timidly. 

"I knew we should've made it weirder, Evans," James said to Lily. "Now Sirius's is the funkiest."

"Ours is second," Remus said, gesturing to Alyssa's and his rainbow-colored bird. 

"Shut up, Moony." 

Professor McGonagall walked around the classroom, examining each pair's project. Then she assigned an essay for the students to work on for the rest of the period, due the next class session. 

"Melanie Daniels, can I see you for a moment?" McGonagall said. 

Melanie put down her quill and headed for the front of the room. 

"Miss Daniels, are you having any problems with your partner?" 

"No."

"Would you like to switch partners?"

Melanie turned and looked at Sirius, who had turned around in his seat and was saying something to James. Lily had moved her seat as far away from James as possible while still remaining at her desk. She was working on her essay, trying very hard to ignore the Marauders. Alyssa looked up from her Transfiguration book and laughed softly at Lily's attempt to ignore her partner. Melanie noticed a wand movement at James's table and then heard a small explosion coming from the back of the room. 

The professor stood up and walked briskly toward the back of the room. 

Melanie smiled to herself as she saw the sheepish grins on Sirius and James's faces. Sirius quickly turned to face the front of the room as McGonagall returned to her desk. 

"Mr. Potter and Mr. Black. Detentions for both of you."

"Yes! I'll break the record yet!" 

"No, I will!"

"You wish, Prongs."

Melanie looked back at the professor. "I don't think I want to switch partners," she said, glancing back at Sirius, who looked up and smiled at her. She returned to her seat. 

"Alyssa Parker."

Alyssa went to McGonagall's desk.

"Are you having problems with your partner?"

"No."

"Would you like to switch partners?"

"I think I'll be fine."

"Very well."

Alyssa returned to her seat. 

"Mr. Wexler."

*** 

"Miss Evans." 

"Yes, professor?"

"Are you having problems with your partner?"

"Yes!"

"What exactly is the problem?"

Lily pointed at James. "He's despicable! He's annoying, he takes forever to get his work done, he's late a lot, and there are so many other things! I hate him!" 

"Yeah, I love you too, Evans!" James retorted. 

Lily groaned. "You see?!" 

"I take it you want to switch partners, Miss Evans."

"Definitely." 

"Well, I'm sorry, but everyone else seems to want to keep their partners. And I refuse to let Mr. Potter be paired with Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin, or Mr. Pettigrew. Who knows what mischief he could get up to if he was." 

"Profeeeeessooooor!" 

"Miss Evans, please calm down."

Lily sighed. "Fine. I'll deal with him. For the rest of the year," she said, making a face at the thought of all the pranks James could pull on her in a year. 

*** 

Victoria had forgotten her Potions book in the dormitory, so she was going to get it before class started, which was in a few minutes. She took one step into the common room and promptly bumped into someone. 

"Sorry," she said. She looked up and her jaw dropped. "Lawrence. Um, hi."

"Hi," Lawrence replied. "Uh, Victoria, right?"

Victoria nodded. "I'm just… going to get my book."

Lawrence smiled. "See you… around, I guess."

"Bye." She walked past him and headed to her dorm room, smiling to herself. 

*** 

"James Potter!" Danielle yelled, running into the Gryffindor common room. 

"What?" he asked innocently from the corner, where he was playing wizard's chess with Remus (and losing). 

"What did you do to Lily?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean?! My friend is somehow stuck to the wall, her hair is purple, her skin is blue, and you're asking me what I mean!" James opened his mouth, but Danielle interrupted him. "And don't try to deny it! I know it was you because it has 'James Potter' written all over it. And, well, so does Lily."

"Really? You mean that actually worked?"

Danielle glared at him. "Fix it now!" 

"Fine, fine." 

James said a few spells and a minute later, a very angry redhead came down the stairs of the girls' dormitory. "_Potter_," Lily said through clenched teeth, "can I see you for a moment?" She stomped out the portrait hole with James following meekly behind her. 

"He's in trouble now," Remus said. 

"I'll say," Danielle replied. 

Lily then came back in and went all the way back to her room, still looking furious. 

James came in a moment later. The side of his face was a little red. "Did you know that that girl slaps really, really hard?"

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: That was… a bit strange, but funny, I think… I don't know. 


	3. What Was That?

Author's Note: I don't really have much to say… 

Title: Partners in Love

Rating: PG

Spoilers: As always, _Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire_, but just a little bit. 

Summary: In Transfiguration class, Lily gets paired with James for the whole year and, well, you can guess what happens…

Disclaimer: Nope! Not me! I don't own anything except for… the non-famous stuff.

Setting: This story is set in Lily and James's days at Hogwarts. It starts out in 5th year.

*** = setting change

_italics_ = emphasis

_italics_ = thoughts

~What Was That?~

Thursday night of the next week, the sixth years were studying for their next Transfiguration exam. 

"McGonagall's getting harder on us this year," James mused. 

"Yeah," Alyssa agreed. 

"What do you do when you want to change a flower into a hamster?" Danielle asked. 

"I miss Tara," Sirius said. 

"_Sirius_," everyone said. 

"What? I do."

Remus replied, "You're going to break up with her in two days, Padfoot. You know it, I know it—"

"But does _she_ know it?" Lily asked. 

Danielle said, "Sirius, I can't believe you. How can you keep doing this to so many girls?"

Victoria answered, "Dani, you're just upset because Sirius dumped you fourth year."

"Shut up."

Sirius chuckled. "Well, Danielle, I'm sorry if I've hurt you. I apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused you," he said, bowing and making extravagant gestures. 

"I accept your apology," she replied, very seriously. Then she broke out laughing. 

The others started laughing with her. 

Lawrence Parker came down the stairs of the boys' dormitory. 

"Hi, Lawrence," Victoria said when she saw him. 

"Hello," he replied. "Lyssa, did you get Mum's letter?"

"Yeah." 

"Okay. Well, I'm off to the library." Lawrence walked out of the common room. 

Alyssa looked at her friend, somewhat amused. "Obvious much, Vicky?"

"Hmm?"

Lily shook her head. "Honestly, Victoria, you are hopeless."

*** 

The next morning, the Gryffindor sixth years were asleep in the common room. 

Kendall woke up and found that the others were still sleeping. He checked his watch. 5:30. It was still early. He closed his eyes and went back to sleep. 

About an hour later, Sirius awoke to find Melanie dozing on his shoulder. He tried not to disturb her as he got into a more comfortable position. 

_I never noticed before, _Sirius thought. _Melanie's really pretty._ He looked across the circle of furniture they had made. Lily and James were asleep on the couch, and James's arms had somehow found their way around Lily's waist.

Sirius grinned. Boy, was he going to have fun with this. 

*** 

Alyssa opened her eyes. Sirius was looking at her. He gestured toward Lily and James. Alyssa put a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughing. 

Pretty soon, all of them except James and Lily were awake. The girls all started giggling. The Marauders grinned at each other. Kendall smiled a little. 

"Hey," Remus said, shaking the two of them. "Wake up."

"Huh?"

"What?"

James opened his eyes, saw the position he had been in, and jumped up, dumping Lily on the floor in the process. 

Lily shrieked as she hit the ground. Then she got up, punched James, and yelled, "What was that about, Potter?!"

"It's not my fault! Don't yell at me!"

Lily turned on Sirius, who had been snickering in the background. "_What_ is so funny?"

Sirius struggled to keep a straight face. "Nothing, Lily, absolutely nothing."

"Whatever. I'm going to my room!" 

Lily stormed up the stairs, her face turning as red as her hair with embarrassment. 

Meanwhile, Sirius was giving James significant looks. 

James finally noticed and asked, "What, Padfoot?"

"Nothing, Prongs. I was just wondering…"

"Wondering what?" he said suspiciously.

"I was just wondering why you had your arms around her waist while you were sleeping."

"How am I supposed to know? It just happened. It's not like I did it on purpose!"

"_Sure_…"

"_Sirius Black_, do not push me right now," James growled.

"Fine, _James Potter_."

*** 

"No!"

"_You_ go!" 

"No, _you_ go!"

"Stop pushing me!" 

"_You_ go!" 

"Wait, you guys—ah!"

Danielle, Alyssa, and Victoria pushed Melanie into the girls' dorm room, causing her to almost fall on her face. The girls had figured that Melanie was the least threatening-looking one of them, so she was the best choice to send in to talk to Lily, who was in a bad mood, based on what they had seen downstairs in the common room. Melanie looked back at them with a semi-panicked look on her face. 

She adjusted her robes and slowly approached Lily, whose back was to her. "Um… Lily?"

"Hi, Mel," Lily replied, glancing at her from her place on her bed. 

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Fine. I'm just perfect," she said sarcastically. 

Melanie didn't say anything for a moment. She stood there, looking curiously at her friend. "I guess you don't want to talk."

"Not right now."

"Okay. We're going to breakfast… Are you coming?"

"Maybe. I'm not very hungry at the moment." Lily turned around as Melanie reached the door. "Hey, Mel?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks."

"Anytime."

Melanie walked down the stairs. 

*** 

Kendall walked behind Remus and Peter as they made their way to breakfast. The girls (minus Lily) were ahead of them. Sirius was poking fun at James in front of the girls. 

"So," Sirius began, "how come you were in such a compromising position, Prongs?"

"Sirius, shut up."

"Oh, no. This is _way_ too good."

Danielle giggled. 

*** 

That day in Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall made an announcement that greatly pleased the Marauders. 

"Class, today we will begin study on Animagi, much more in depth than we have in your previous years here." She assigned the first lesson for them to read in their books and left them to take notes on it for the rest of the period.

Lily immediately began reading and taking notes. Her partner, on the other hand, didn't even have his book open. James was just sitting there, staring at nothing in particular. 

"Aren't you going to start reading?" Lily asked. "My marks are partly based on yours, and if you don't do well on these lessons, I will kill you."

"Don't worry about it. I'll do fine."

"Uh-huh. Whatever," she replied, turning back to her book so she wouldn't have to see the smirk he had on his face. 

***

Melanie was taking notes as well, but she seemed to have gotten confused. She read the section again, then looked at her notes and tried to figure out where she had gone wrong. 

Sirius, like James, did not seem very interested in beginning the work. He glanced at Melanie, who kept moving her eyes from the book to her parchment looking increasingly more bewildered. "Is something wrong?"

"Hmm?" Melanie said absently, pushing her hair out of her eyes. 

"You look very confused."

"Well, I don't understand what this is saying. I'm not that good at this."

"Oh, that's okay. What are you not sure about?"

She pointed out the paragraph that she had been looking at. 

Sirius scooted his chair closer to her so he could see it. "Oh, that. First you have to do this, then—"

*** 

Alyssa glanced up from her notes to see Sirius moving closer to Melanie from his seat in the front row. She smiled softly and tried to keep from laughing. 

Remus, who had his book open, but wasn't really paying attention to it, looked at her curiously. "What is it?"

"Just—nothing."

"Come on, what is it?"

She pointed two rows in front of her. Then she turned around in her seat to say something to Danielle. "Dani, look at Sirius and Mel," she whispered. 

Danielle looked. "_That's_ different."

"What do you want to bet that he asks her out?"

"Melanie? No way. I mean, Sirius _is_ running out of girls to ask, but Melanie? She's so shy and… she doesn't seem to be his type…"

"As I recall, you weren't his type either, Danielle," Victoria said from behind her. 

"Shut up, Vicky. Alyssa, time limit?"

"One month."

"Two weeks."

"Three."

"Fine. Ten Galleons."

"Deal." The two girls shook hands. 

Victoria spoke up quietly from behind them, "Can I get in on this? I bet Sirius asks Mel, but she doesn't accept."

"I bet she does. Sirius does seem to be rather charming to every other girl in school," Alyssa replied. 

"Okay, then. Ten Galleons." 

"All right." 

The girls turned back to their assignment.

TO BE CONTINUED… 

Author's Note: Ooh… Sirius and Melanie, huh? *grin* You don't have to review if you don't want to, but I'd greatly appreciate it.


	4. James and Lily?

Author's Note: Yeah, I don't know why I did that thing with the heights of the characters… I just like people to get a good idea of what they look like and how they look together… something like that. And I changed their heights a little because… I'm not sure… I think I was going to, but forgot to before I posted the story… 

Title: Partners in Love

Rating: PG

Spoilers: As always, _Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire_, but just a little bit. 

Summary: In Transfiguration class, Lily gets paired with James for the whole year and, well, you can guess what happens…

Disclaimer: Nope! Not me! I don't own anything except for… the non-famous stuff.

Setting: This story is set in Lily and James's days at Hogwarts. It starts out in 5th year.

*** = setting change

*~*= begin flashback

~*~ = end flashback

__

italics = emphasis

__

italics = thoughts

~James and Lily?~

Lily and James were in the Gryffindor common room at ten o'clock at night. Lily was reading her Transfiguration book, trying to make sense of what it was saying about turning pigs into chairs. "And so then you wave your wand like this and it turns into a chair—Potter, are you listening to me?" 

"Yeah, sure," James replied, obviously having not heard a word she had said. 

Lily sighed and put her book down. "Look, if you're not even going to listen to me, then I don't see what the point of being partners is." 

"Um… because McGonagall says so?" 

She gave him a withering look. "Potter, I am trying very hard not to kill you right now." 

"That's—nice—to know," James said, looking at her strangely and scooting further away from her.

"Are you going to pay attention or not?"

"Evans, I already know all this stuff."

"Prove it."

"If I had a pig, I'd do it. Actually, you're pretty close to a pi—"

"Finish that sentence and you're dead."

James wisely chose to shut up. He leaned back in the armchair he was sitting in and stared into the fire. Absently, he reminded himself that if he kept doing that, he'd end up more blind than he already was. 

Lily rolled her eyes and decided to just ignore him. She started reading the next section of the book. 

*** 

After about a half-hour, James decided to say something. He looked at Lily, blinking a few times in the process. He really shouldn't have been looking at the flames that long. "Are we done here?"

At that moment, Lily's owl flew in, dropping a letter on her lap. Lily thanked her owl. She then addressed James's question as she opened the letter. "Whatever, Potter. Leave. I don't care."

"Okay." James got up to leave, but then he saw the expression on Lily's face. She looked shocked. "Evans," he said.

Lily didn't say anything. She just stared blankly at the piece of parchment in her hands. 

"Evans? You okay?"

She shook her head. 

"Why?"

She mumbled something that he couldn't hear. 

"What?" 

"My parents are dead."

James's eyes widened. "What?"

"You heard me, Potter! My parents are dead! I'm an orphan!" Lily yelled. The remaining Gryffindors in the common room decided that they were done studying for the night and fled to their rooms.

"But how—"

"I'm an orphan!" Lily shrieked, jumping up to her feet. She glared at James. "My parents are _dead_! That's why I'm an orphan! You know what orphans are!"

"That's not what I was going to ask!" James protested. "How did they—"

"I should have been there! Instead, I was here with you! With you, talking about pigs!" she screamed, attacking James. 

"Hey!" James tried to move away, but she was too fast. Finally, he stopped trying to escape and just held her so that she couldn't do so much damage to him. 

After a few minutes of that, Lily finally broke down sobbing and stopped trying to hit James. 

"Evans," James said, "I'm sorry about your family. Are you okay?"

Lily finally noticed that she was (*ahem*) being held by _James Potter_, of all people (AN: Hehe. *evil grin*). "Ah! Get away from me!" She broke out of his grasp and sat on the far side of the couch. 

"Hey, I'm just trying to help, okay?"

"Well, I don't need your help! Especially not in that way!" Lily retorted. She looked away, trying to forget about what had just happened. Apparently, the thought of James comforting her was more shocking than her parents' deaths.

"Fine. Goodnight." James walked up the staircase to the room he shared with his friends. 

*** 

"Shh."

"Shh." 

"Okay, you know what? The shushing is louder than the other noises we're making!" James whispered loudly to his friends, who were underneath his Invisibility Cloak with him. 

"Okay! Jeez, Prongs, you're such a party pooper."

"Padfoot! This isn't a party! Moony's waiting for us!" 

"It is _so_ a party! Maybe not the normal kind, but we're very strange people!" 

"Maybe we should just keep quiet and get going," Peter suggested. 

"_Okay,_" Sirius replied in a whisper. 

James peeked around the corner into the common room. Someone with red hair was lying down on the couch. He frowned. _Evans is still here? _he thought. He motioned for Sirius and Peter to move back up the stairs a little. 

"What is it?" Sirius asked in a whisper.

"Uh… Look, you guys just go ahead, okay? I'm gonna stay here."

"Why?" 

"I'll—I'll tell you tomorrow, Padfoot. Just go. It's easier if there are only two people under the Cloak, anyway."

"All right. Tomorrow," Sirius confirmed. 

"Tomorrow."

"Swear?"

"Sirius!" 

"Okay, okay. I'll take that as a yes. See ya."

Sirius and Peter headed off very quietly towards the portrait hole, Peter holding the Marauders' Map. 

Lily turned around at the sound of the Fat Lady returning to her proper position, but she only found James grinning sheepishly at her in a very suspicious manner. She lay back down. 

James sat down in an armchair near Lily. He didn't look at her until he heard her sniffle. "Evans?"

Lily had started crying again. She buried her face into the blankets she had fetched from her room a few hours ago. "Leave me alone."

"Why do you hate me so much?" James asked. He was just trying to help. Why was she being so resistant? 

Lily didn't answer at first. She thought back to third year, when James was well on his way to achieving his reputation for being a class clown (AN: *grin*). 

*~* 

It was the beginning of third year. Lily had just remembered that she had to return a book she had borrowed from the library. She ran down the stairs and was about to enter the Gryffindor common room when she heard some people talking. She peeked around the corner and saw James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter sitting in a circle of furniture. 

James said, "What about Danielle?" 

"Ooh, she's pretty," Sirius said.

"How about Lynette, from Hufflepuff?" Remus suggested. 

"Ooh, she's pretty too."

Peter said, "Caroline Grant."

"She's _very_ pretty." 

"Sirius, you think every girl in school is pretty!" 

"Well, I can't help it that there are a bunch of gorgeous girls around all the time!" Sirius retorted. "How about you, James? Who would you want to go out with?"

James turned somewhat red. "I don't know…"

"Oh, come on. Um… how about… Clarissa, from Ravenclaw?"

"Maybe."

"Alyssa Parker."

"She's nice, but she's not my type."

"Elizabeth from Hufflepuff."

"Yeah." 

"Hmm." Sirius thought for a moment. "What about… Lily Evans?"

Lily, who had been eavesdropping for no apparent reason, held her breath. 

"I don't think so."

"Why not? I think she's cool."

"Well, I don't know. She seems kind of… stuck up," James replied. "It's like she always has to know everything and she's always sucking up to the teachers. She's such a teacher's pet."

Lily felt tears stinging her eyes. _Stuck up? _And she was _not_ a teacher's pet. Stupid James. Potter. Stupid Potter (AN: Yeah, this is where she started calling him Potter instead of James). What did he know? He was just a stupid boy. And he wasn't _that_ good-looking. She must have been crazy if she had ever thought that. 

She walked back up the stairs, deciding that she would return the book later. 

~*~ 

Lily started crying again, the new tears mixing with the ones that she had just shed for her parents. 

James knelt at her side. "What's wrong?"

Lily took some deep breaths to calm down, then sat up. James's eyes followed her. "Do you still want to know the answer to your question?" she asked quietly. 

"Yes."

"Do you remember at the beginning of third year? You were sitting with your friends, talking about girls."

"Okay," James said, trying to pick out that conversation from the many others that he had had with his friends. 

"And… Sirius was asking you about girls you would go out with."

James tried to bring up the memories of anything Sirius had asked him about girls that he would go out with. 

"Then he asked you about me." Lily closed her eyes. "And you said that you thought I was stuck up."

It finally clicked in his head. Third year, Sirius drooling over pretty girls… He remembered. Oh God. "You heard that." It was a statement, not a question. 

"I was on my way downstairs and I heard you talking."

James sighed. "I'm so sorry, Evans. I didn't know you that well back then. I was just—I don't know."

"Sure, whatever."

James sat down beside her. "I'm _really _sorry! I mean it."

Lily looked away. 

"Forgive me?"

She still didn't say anything. 

"Do you forgive me?"

"Okay! Fine! I forgive you! Potter, I don't need this right now, okay? My parents are dead. _Dead_." She glared at him, then realized that it wasn't his fault that they were killed. 

"Didn't you have a sister?"

"She was out visiting a friend when it happened."

"How do you feel?" James asked. 

"How do you _think _I feel?"

"Oh." James stared at the floor. "I'm really sorry, though."

"Thanks, I guess." Lily glanced at him. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Is there a rule against being nice to you?"

"No. It's just weird, that's all."

"To be honest, I'm not sure."

Lily exhaled. "I've been thinking."

"About what?"

"I think we should call a truce."

"A truce?"

Lily nodded. "I mean, I just can't handle fighting with you everyday. Not right now."

James replied, "I understand. Losing your family can be hard, I guess."

"You know what the worst part is?"

"What?"

"Voldemort killed my parents, but he didn't take my sister."

James laughed softly at Lily's weak attempt at a joke. "Is she that bad?"

"She told anyone who would listen that I was a freak. It isn't my fault I'm a witch."

"Oh. I guess that's why it's nice that I'm an only child," James said. "But of course, that led to my having to have Sirius as a friend…"

Lily smiled a little. "How'd you two meet, anyway?"

"Well, my parents were friends with his parents. One time, they came to my house for a visit. Sirius's parents wanted to go on a vacation away from their son, so my parents were letting him stay with us for a few days. I soon discovered why they wanted to get away from Sirius for a while." James grinned. "I was um… four at the time, I think. We got along really well. We had a lot in common. While he stayed with us, we played a lot of tricks on the house-elves. They make really funny noises when they're startled."

Lily laughed. "What about Remus and Peter?"

"Sirius and I met Peter in Diagon Alley when we were getting our books for first year. Remus ended up in our boat on our way to the castle. Then, since we were all in Gryffindor, we started being friends."

"Well, Kendall's in Gryffindor too. Why don't you guys hang out together?"

"I don't know. He has his own friends in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, and he never really fit in with us. We're too weird for him."

"I'll say."

James stuck his tongue out at her. 

Lily giggled. "You know what, Potter? You're not as bad as I thought you were."

James grinned. "Really?"

"No."

"Huh?"

"I'm just kidding!" Lily started laughing harder. "You're too easy!" 

"Shut up."

Lily yawned. 

"Tired, Evans?"

"Not really." She yawned again. "Well, maybe a little."

James smiled. "So are we friends now or what?"

"Or what," Lily replied. "Definitely 'or what.' I don't think we're at the point where we can be friends just yet."

"Okay. But at least you don't hate me so much now, do you?"

"I guess not, Potter. But don't expect me to go around being nice to you all the time."

"Oh, I wouldn't expect that. Not from Lily Evans."

*** 

"All right, Prongs. Spill," Sirius demanded the second Kendall walked out of the room the next morning, leaving him and James alone. 

"What?"

"Why didn't you come with us?"

"I don't know… I just… didn't feel like it."

"Uh-huh. Sure. And I'm a flying hippopotamus."

"That can be arranged, Padfoot."

Sirius narrowed his eyes. "_Prongs_… You tell me what's going on or I won't be your best friend anymore."

"Okay, okay. Hmm… but on the other hand, if I don't tell you… I can't decide which is better," James replied with a grin. 

"_James!_" 

"Fine, Padfoot. Jeez, you're so tense."

Sirius didn't seem to find it very funny, which was rather strange of him. 

"Well, when Evans and I were studying last night, she got this letter. It said that Voldemort killed her parents. And… well, she started trying to kill me, first of all… Then she cried… Then, when we went downstairs to meet up with Moony, I saw her there in the common room. I decided to stay and see if she was okay. And I think we called a truce for now."

Sirius was smiling. 

"What are you grinning about, mate?"

"Nothing."

"What is it?"

"I'll tell you when the time is right."

"Uh… sure…" James had a suspicious expression on his face.

Sirius just grinned and danced out of the room. Of course, he nearly fell down the stairs, but he didn't mind. He knew something about his best friend that he didn't.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: Okay… That was weird… And I don't know what's up with this story… I'll try to update faster! Sorry! It's this high school thing! Hope people are still reading this…


	5. Sirius and Melanie?

Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews! Hmm… I hope I can get up to thirty-something reviews with this chapter… 

Title: Partners in Love

Rating: PG

Spoilers: As always, _Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire_, but just a little bit. 

Summary: In Transfiguration class, Lily gets paired with James for the whole year and, well, you can guess what happens…

Disclaimer: Nope! Not me! I don't own anything except for… the non-famous stuff.

Setting: This story is set in Lily and James's days at Hogwarts. It starts out in 5th year. 

*** = setting change

__

italics = emphasis

__

italics = thoughts

~Sirius and Melanie?~

Sirius poked Melanie, who was staring at a page in her book in confusion. "Hey."

Melanie looked up at him. "What?" 

"You all right? You're kinda mumbling to yourself, and that's usually not a good sign." He smiled slightly. 

"I'm just—I'm stressed right now," Melanie said, sighing. She leaned back in her chair. "I'm never going to understand this stuff. I guess I'm just not a Transfiguration person. I mean, Charms are fine for me. But this—turning chairs into squirrels, pigs into chairs—it's driving me crazy!"

Sirius closed the book. "You know what you need? A break. You need to relax. And I know just what will help you relax."

"What?" Melanie asked, curious. 

Sirius paused and bit his lip. "Um… wait here for a minute, okay?" He ran up the stairs to his dormitory. A few minutes later, he emerged with a silvery cloak. He stood in front of Melanie. "You can't tell anyone about this, okay? It's James's Invisibility Cloak." 

Melanie's eyes widened. "Where did he get that?"

"Some family heirloom or something. Whatever," Sirius said, dismissing the topic with a wave of his hand. He pulled Melanie to the portrait hole. "We're going outside."

"Sirius, that's against the rules!"

"Come on. You need to relax, and I'm going to help you. It's nothing bad." Sirius turned his patented puppy dog look on her. 

Melanie sighed. "Fine. But we can't be too long, all right?"

Sirius nodded. He and Melanie both got under the Invisibility Cloak, then headed out of Gryffindor Tower. 

*** 

"Sirius, where are you taking me?" Melanie asked. She and Sirius were outside the castle now. What could possibly be out here that he wanted her to see?

"Okay, here." Sirius stopped. They were in the middle of a field. 

"What's so great about this place?"

"It's not the _place_ that's great," Sirius replied. "Sit."

Melanie sat.

Sirius sat down next to her. "Okay, now look up."

Melanie did as she was told. "I just see the stars." _Is that all he wanted to show me? I can see the stars anytime. I should be studying right now._ "What did you want to show me?"

"That's it."

"Sirius, I can look at the stars whenever I want to."

"Yeah, but have you ever just gazed at them for a long time? It makes you feel really peaceful." Sirius smiled and lay down on the grass. He put his hands behind his head. "They always make me feel better when I have problems. I can just look at them and forget about all the bad things in life." He glanced at Melanie, who was still sitting up. "Try it."

"Okay." Melanie lay down next to him. The stars _were_ pretty. She started trying to find the constellations that she knew. 

Sirius sighed in content. Stargazing always relaxed him. The only person he had ever shared the stars—_his_ stars—with was James, his best friend. Why was he doing this with Melanie, of all people? He had never once looked at the stars with any of his ex-girlfriends. _She's my friend_, he told himself. _She needed something to get her mind off of Transfiguration, so I decided to help her relax. It's nothing more than that. _

"What's the name of that star?" Melanie asked. 

Sirius tried to find the one she was pointing to. "Which one?"

"That one there. The bright one."

"Oh." Sirius smiled softly. He chuckled. "That's, uh, Sirius."

"Really?" 

"Mm-hmm. The brightest star in the sky. My parents named me after it."

Melanie turned to look at him. "Why?"

Sirius thought back to his childhood. "Well, they told me that they hadn't been able to have kids for a while. Then they finally had me. When I was born, I was their bright hope. They named me after a star. The brightest star in the sky. That's what they told me, anyway."

Melanie propped herself on her elbow, facing Sirius. "That's kind of romantic. My name's boring."

"It's not boring," Sirius replied. 

"Yes, it is. Melanie Daniels… It sounds so common." 

"I think it's fine."

Melanie sat up. She turned to face Sirius, folding her legs underneath her. "Do you think I'm boring?" She fiddled with a blade of grass. She didn't know why, but his answer was suddenly very important to her. 

Sirius sat up as well. "Of course not. Why would I think you're boring?" 

Melanie shrugged and looked down at her hands. "I don't know. I would love to be as carefree as you are, but some part of me makes me be serious and obedient."

"You think I'm carefree?"

"Sort of."

"I have things to worry about. I just don't let them get to me. Enjoy life, Mel. That's why I brought you out here. Sometimes you just need to relax and not think too much about bad stuff." He leaned back, using his arms to support himself. He tipped his head back to look at the stars again. "For me, I relax by stargazing. Maybe that's not for you. Maybe it is. It doesn't matter. You just need to find something that makes you forget all your problems. Something that's important to you and makes you happy." 

For one brief moment, Melanie wondered if _her_ "something" was Sirius himself. The thought left her mind as fast as it had come. 

The two of them were silent for a few minutes. Melanie looked up at the night sky again. "Sirius?"

"Yeah?" 

"What do you see when you look at me?" 

Sirius paused for a minute, looking at Melanie. "Well," he said, "I see a very smart, pretty girl who's kinda shy." He tilted his head to the side and squinted at her. "I see a girl who is afraid to show people who she really is."

Melanie stared at him. Her heart started beating faster. How did he know her so well? 

"I see a girl who wants someone to understand her."

"How—how did you—?"

"I've known you for over five years, Melanie. You think I've never noticed you? You're not as good at hiding as you think you are." Sirius smiled. "What? You never thought I was anything more than a prankster?"

Melanie looked away, somewhat abashed. 

"It's okay," he assured her. "I don't mind that people don't always see past the surface. I'm sure I'm guilty of the same thing." 

Melanie nodded. She scooted closer to Sirius. "Thank you for sharing this with me," she said. "And you're right, I did need to relax."

Sirius grinned. "You're welcome. And duh." He stood up. "You wanna go back now?"

"Yeah."

He offered Melanie a hand to help her up. She gratefully accepted the offer. 

*** 

Once they had gotten back to the Gryffindor common room, Sirius took the Invisibility Cloak off. "So are you going to go to bed, or are you going to study some more?"

Melanie bit her lip. "Well…"

"Sleep, Mel."

She grinned. "Okay."

Sirius had a sudden urge to kiss her then. He shrugged it off, attributing the feeling to his lack of sleep. 

"Goodnight, Sirius."

"Goodnight."

*** 

"All right, Sirius," James said, trying to shake his best friend awake. 

"Dad, leave me alone. Mum always lets me have five more minutes," Sirius replied groggily. He pulled his blankets up over his head. 

James replied indignantly, "Hey, who are you calling 'Dad'? I'm not that old. Get up!"

Sirius remained in the bed. 

Remus went over to Sirius's bed. "Padfoot, there are ten really pretty girls standing around your bed."

"What?" Sirius sat up. "Where?" he asked, looking around frantically. 

Remus grinned. "Nowhere. I just wanted to wake you up." 

Peter went into the bathroom. Kendall put on his shoes and headed downstairs. 

"It's Monday. Who's your new girlfriend gonna be?" James asked. 

Sirius opened his mouth to answer, then paused. "I don't have anyone in mind."

"What?" James replied in shock. 

"What?" Remus echoed. 

"I can't think of anyone." 

James sat down heavily on the bed. "The world is coming to an end."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "The world is not coming to an end. And get off my bed," he said, pushing James. 

"I just don't see how this is possible," Remus said. "I have never heard you say that you don't have a girl to ask out." 

"Well, maybe I just don't feel like dating anyone right now," Sirius retorted. 

James and Remus stared at him with their mouths open in identical expressions of shock. 

James recovered after a few seconds. "You—wait a second," he said, noticing something. "Why aren't you wearing a shirt?"

Sirius looked down at himself. "Huh. I'm not wearing a shirt, am I?"

James waited for an explanation. When he didn't get it, he asked, "Well, why aren't you?"

"I guess I just forgot."

"How do you forget something like that?" Remus demanded. "Especially when it's a cold night?"

"Well, it was late when I got in," Sirius said, getting out of bed and putting on a shirt. "Happy now?" 

"What were you doing out so late?"

"I was—uh—out with Melanie."

James shook his head. "Wait a minute. Wait just a minute. You were out with Melanie. Melanie Daniels?" 

"Yep."

Remus asked, "Melanie Daniels the Gryffindor?"

Sirius nodded, reaching for his pants. 

James was still in shock. "Melanie Daniels the sixth year Gryffindor?"

"Yes! Jeez!"

"And what were you doing out late at night with Melanie, young man?"

"You sound like my mum," Sirius replied, giving James a strange look. 

James threw up his hands. "I give up. First I'm your dad, now I'm your mum. At this rate, you're going to be calling me uncle by this afternoon!"

"You're very cranky this morning, James."

James groaned and put his face in his hands. 

Sirius went into the bathroom. When he came out a few minutes later, he saw James sitting on Remus's bed, muttering to himself. He was saying something like, "First Evans, now Padfoot. When will the madness end?"

Poor Remus was just standing there, wondering what he could do to help his friend. 

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Okay, Prongs. Enough drama. Get up, go downstairs, and eat breakfast."

James stood up and did as his friend told him. 

Remus stared at Sirius. "When did _you_ become the voice of reason?" 

Sirius shrugged. "I don't know."

As the two made their way down the staircase, Remus turned to Sirius and inquired, "What _were _you doing out with Melanie anyway?"

Sirius smiled at the memory. "Just some stargazing." 

TO BE CONTINUED… 

Author's Note: Is that too short? I'm sorry. I had like a lot of time to do this too… But I was lazy… *ducks to avoid flying tomatoes*


	6. Remus and Alyssa?

Author's Note: Thanks so much for the reviews! I'm sorry I haven't updated in a long time… Too busy with term papers and AP tests and blah… Well, now that the fifth book is out, my story has a bunch of wrong information… So let's just say this story is based on the stuff from the third and the fourth books, shall we? 

Title: Partners in Love

Rating: PG

Spoilers: As always, _Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire_, but just a little bit. 

Summary: In Transfiguration class, Lily gets paired with James for the whole year and, well, you can guess what happens…

Disclaimer: Nope! Not me! I don't own anything except for… the non-famous stuff.

Setting: This story is set in Lily and James's days at Hogwarts. It starts out in 5th year. 

*** = setting change

__

italics = emphasis

__

italics = thoughts

~Remus and Alyssa?~

Remus was sitting in the Gryffindor common room, listening to Alyssa. Alyssa was reading aloud from her Transfiguration book in order to get things straight in her mind and also to block out the sounds of James and Lily's bickering. "To change a—"

"Shut up!"

"—cow into an—"

"No, you shut up!" 

"—inkwell, wave your—"

"Stop that!" 

"You stop!" 

"Oh, for heaven's sake!" Alyssa exclaimed. "Both of you shut up right now, or else." She waved her wand threateningly. She glanced at Remus. "I can't take this anymore. See you tomorrow, Remus," she said, picking up her books. "I'm going upstairs. And can you do something about that friend of yours? Get him away from Lily before she explodes. Again." 

"Ah, yes, I recall the famous quarrel of fourth year," Sirius said, popping up next to Remus. 

Alyssa smiled and shook her head. "Goodnight, Sirius. Goodnight, Remus." Alyssa headed for the stairs to the girls' dormitories. 

"See ya." 

"Bye." 

Remus and Sirius looked at James and Lily. James poked Lily. Lily slapped him on the back of his head. James stuck his tongue out at her. Lily pushed him. 

Remus raised an eyebrow. "James said they called a truce." 

Sirius laughed and seated himself in the chair that Alyssa had vacated. "Moony, my boy, for those two, this _is _a truce." 

"How am I supposed to get James away from Lily?" Remus wondered. 

"Yeah," Sirius said. "I mean, look at him. He's clearly obsessed with her. Speaking of which, was it just me, or were you looking very interested in what Alyssa was saying about cows and inkwells?" He settled back in the chair, an amused expression on his face. 

"It was just you." 

"Oh, Moony, come on." 

Remus smiled. "Believe what you want, Padfoot." 

The boys suddenly heard a girl laughing. They looked at Danielle, who was sitting across from Kendall and giggling at something he had said. 

"Hmm. Ken never used to be that funny," Sirius mused. "You think Dani fancies him?" 

"I don't know," Remus replied. He looked over at Lily and James again. 

"James, stop," Lily said, pushing her partner lightly. Was she _laughing_?

James grinned. 

Sirius thoughtfully stroked his nonexistent beard. "Why, Mr. Moony, I do believe that Miss Evans has taken a liking to our Mr. Prongs." 

Remus smiled and answered, "Sure enough, Mr. Padfoot." 

"Hey!" said a squeaky male voice from behind them. "What are you guys talking about?" 

"Mr. Wormtail!" Sirius greeted Peter heartily. "How nice to see you again! How goes it?" Yes, Sirius was in another of his trying-way-too-hard-to-be-fancy moods.

"Fine," Peter replied. 

"And you, Mr. Moony?" 

"Just fine, Mr. Padfoot." Remus decided to play along with Sirius. It was just harmless fun. Besides, Remus needed some fun in his life. After all, certain parts of his existence weren't all that great. 

*** 

Melanie and Victoria were sitting in the sixth year girls' dormitory, discussing their most recent Charms lesson, when Alyssa came into the room. Alyssa dumped her books on her bed. "Hey." 

"Hi, Alyssa." 

"Hey." 

Alyssa sat on the edge of Melanie's bed. "I swear, if Lily and James don't kill each other, then I will." 

Victoria laughed. "They were at it again, were they?" 

"Yeah."

Victoria bit her lip. "Alyssa?" 

"Hmm?" Alyssa glanced at the dark-haired girl. 

"Do you think—do you think Lawrence likes me?" 

Alyssa raised an eyebrow. "Lawrence? My brother Lawrence?" 

Victoria nodded, her cheeks turning pink. 

"I honestly wouldn't know. He's a bit strange, my brother." 

"Oh," said Victoria, clearly unsatisfied with Alyssa's answer. She sighed. "How are you both doing in Transfiguration?" 

"Fine," replied Alyssa. 

Melanie took a little longer to answer. "I'm doing loads better. I can understand Transfiguration now with Sirius as my partner." 

"Oh," said Victoria. "I'm doing all right, but I'm not that fond of Peter Pettigrew…" 

Alyssa grinned. "I'm glad I got Remus instead of Peter. He's really nice, and we're interested in some of the same things. We get along well." 

*** 

Remus came down the stairs and stepped into the common room. He saw a familiar head of brown hair and smiled. 

Alyssa was sitting in an armchair, facing away from the boys' dormitories. She turned a page in the novel she was reading. 

"Hey," said a soft voice from behind her. 

She turned around and looked up. Remus was kneeling on an armchair that was pushed back-to-back with hers. He was resting his arms on the top of the chair and looking down at her. 

"Hi," Alyssa greeted him. "Why aren't you at the Quidditch match?" 

Remus turned his head in the direction of the Quidditch field and silently cheered for Gryffindor. "I was going to go cheer on James, but I haven't been feeling well lately." He turned his gaze back on her. "Why aren't _you _out there?" 

Alyssa held up her book. "I wanted to have some quiet time to read," she said. "What better time to do that than when everyone else is out of the castle?" 

Remus nodded and rested his head on his arms, reading over Alyssa's shoulder.

"Remus—" Alyssa began, turning her head to look up at Remus. Her breath was taken away from her when she realized that her face was only about two inches away from his. 

The two of them stayed like that for a moment, staring at each other. Then they heard the portrait hole being opened and jumped apart guiltily. 

Someone entered the room. "Lyssa?" It was Lawrence Parker. 

Alyssa smiled nervously. "Hey."

"Why are you in here instead of out watching the Quidditch match?" Lawrence asked, looking at his sister, then at Remus, then back at Alyssa.

"I could ask you the same," Alyssa replied. 

"I forgot my notes for Potions," Lawrence said, going over to one of the tables and picking up a few pieces of parchment. "Oh, good, they're still here." 

"See you later, Alyssa." Remus went upstairs. 

"Bye." 

Lawrence smirked at his sister. "He likes you." 

Alyssa rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. He does not." 

"Believe what you want, little sis," Lawrence said, going back to the portrait hole. 

Alyssa started reading again. _Remus does _not _like me, _she thought. _Lawrence doesn't know what he's talking about. _She wasn't about to trust the judgment of a boy who couldn't even figure out that one of her friends liked him. 

*** 

The next day, when the sixth years were working on Transfiguration homework, something occurred to Alyssa. She thought about it for a while as James and Peter started up a game of wizard chess, having finished their work. Victoria didn't really mind that Peter wasn't sitting with her anymore, and Lily was just relieved that James had found something other to do than bother her. 

Alyssa finally got up the courage to ask the question that had been on her mind for the past hour. "Remus?"

"Yeah?" Remus lifted his gaze from his parchment and smiled at her. 

"Where do you go every month?"

Remus froze. The smile faded from his face. "What do you mean?" he asked, keeping his voice steady. 

Alyssa replied, "Well, your official excuses are that you are sick, or have gone to visit someone, or something else of the sort. I highly doubt that you get sick so often in such a regular pattern. And you're a big boy, Remus. You don't need to visit your family that much. Where do you really go?" 

"I don't know what you're talking about," answered Remus, standing abruptly. "See you later, Alyssa." He walked away, leaving his partner's questions unanswered. 

Why was he being so jumpy? She just wanted to know what was going on. If it was something bad, maybe she could help.   


"I beat you, Wormtail!" shouted James. 

Alyssa pondered. 

TO BE CONTINUED… 

Author's Note: Hmm… that was a bit short considering I had lots of time to work on it… Sorry! I hope it was satisfactory, though… Please review.


	7. Kendall and Danielle?

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! 

Title: Partners in Love

Rating: PG

Spoilers: As always, _Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire_, but just a little bit. 

Summary: In Transfiguration class, Lily gets paired with James for the whole year and, well, you can guess what happens…

Disclaimer: Nope! Not me! I don't own anything except for… the non-famous stuff.

Setting: This story is set in Lily and James's days at Hogwarts. It starts out in 5th year. 

*** = setting change

__

italics = emphasis

~Kendall and Danielle?~

Alyssa looked over the top of her book at Melanie and Sirius. Sirius obviously liked Melanie—Alyssa was sure of that. However, he still had not asked her out. This was troubling. There were only four days left in the bet. 

Danielle was sitting next to Alyssa. Alyssa was staring across the room at a certain pair of Gryffindors.

"I've been thinking," remarked Alyssa. "About our bet."

"What about it?" asked Danielle idly.

"I want an extension."

"What?" Danielle stared at Alyssa. "Uh-uh. We agreed on this." 

"But—"

A soft voice was heard from Danielle's right. "Hey."

The two girls looked at Victoria, who had just walked up to them. 

"Vicky, ask Danielle for an extension on the bet," Alyssa pleaded. 

Victoria turned her head toward Melanie and Sirius. "Yes, they _are_ moving more slowly than I thought they would." 

Danielle gave an exasperated sigh. "And _I _said they wouldn't move along at all."

Alyssa said, "Er… How about we triple the bet?"

Danielle thought about it. "Okay." 

"How much time do we get?" Victoria wanted to know. 

"Only till the second week after next term begins," Danielle replied. "No more." 

Alyssa grinned. "Okay." She gathered her things and headed for the library. She was supposed to meet Remus there instead of in the common room. She wasn't sure why, but Remus had hinted that it had something to do with James and Sirius and some kind of liquid… Alyssa wasn't about to stick around to find out. 

Meanwhile, Victoria and Danielle were still sitting in the common room, both staring at their respective crushes. 

"Vicky, we are never going to be asked out," Danielle sighed. "We'll be alone all our lives with only each other." 

"That's a scary thought," Victoria replied absently. Lawrence Parker was sitting at the perfect angle for her to look at him. Victoria sighed. Lawrence barely even knew she existed. At this rate, he'd never ask her out. 

"Hi!" came a squeaky voice from behind her. 

Victoria sighed again, then turned around and said brightly, "Hello, Peter." 

"We need to start working on our Transfiguration project," Peter said.

"Yes, yes, I know." Victoria sat down at a table with Peter. 

Danielle watched as her best friend began looking increasingly bored the longer she sat with Peter Pettigrew. She shook her head and walked over to Kendall.

"Hi, Danielle," Kendall greeted her, smiling. 

As always, Danielle smiled back at him and sat down. "We'd better get started, huh?" 

Kendall nodded. 

Kendall and Danielle had been working for almost an hour when they detected a foul odor in the room.

Students started shrieking as liquid began seeping through the floor.

Danielle jumped up onto her chair and immediately turned toward James and Sirius. "James Potter! Sirius Black! What did you do?!"

"Nothing, Dani! Absolutely nothing!" Sirius yelled back cheerfully from the stairs.

Everyone headed for his or her respective dormitories. 

Danielle stepped down onto the floor, covering her nose with her hand to avoid the smell. She tried to get to the stairs quickly, because the level of the liquid was rising. Unfortunately, the floor was slippery. Danielle slipped and fell onto someone—someone named Kendall.

"Oof."

"Sorry!" Danielle jumped up and helped Kendall get to his feet. "Oh no," she cried. "Now your clothes are all ruined!"

Kendall replied, "It's okay."

"But I ruined your things!" Danielle said. "James! Sirius!" she yelled across the room. "How do you get this smell out?"

"I'll take care of it!" yelled James. "Sorry, Kendall!" 

"I'll see you tomorrow," Kendall said, trying to get to the staircase. "In the library. Not here." 

"Definitely not here," Danielle agreed, sending him a parting smile. 

***

"What happened?" Alyssa asked, entering the girls' dormitory. "No one's in the common room." 

"Potter and Black decided to be funny," Lily said. "They filled the common room with—oh, what was it that Professor Sprout told us?"

"Anyway," Victoria said, "it smelled horrible, so everyone left."

"Phew!" Alyssa exhaled. "I'm so glad Remus told me to meet him in the library instead." 

Danielle giggled. "You are _always_ talking about Remus." 

"I am not!" Alyssa said hotly. 

"Actually," piped up Melanie, "you mentioned him to me this morning."

"And last night," said Lily. 

"The day before." 

"Oh! And right after—"

"Okay! Enough already!" Alyssa said. "But Danielle is always, _always _talking about Kendall."

Danielle blushed. "So what? He's really nice."

The girls all burst into laughter.

***

Kendall sat on his bed, finally rid of the horrible smell. 

"So…" James said. "Ken, do you fancy Danielle?" 

Kendall raised an eyebrow. Where had _that_ come from? "I don't know," he replied slowly. "She's nice and everything. She's pretty too. I'm not sure if I fancy her, though."

Sirius and James glanced at each other. 

Remus entered the room. "It worked?" 

James grinned. "Like a charm, Moony. Like a charm."

*** 

Kendall sat with Danielle in the library. He noticed that his partner seemed rather fidgety. Danielle kept rearranging her long hair and flipping the pages of her book for no reason. She also glanced repeatedly at Kendall. 

He pointed to a passage in his textbook. "Do you understand this?" Kendall asked. 

"Will you go out with me?" asked Danielle, not even attempting to answer his question. 

Kendall blinked. "Danielle—er—sure," he said finally. 

"Okay." Danielle beamed at him. 

Kendall couldn't help smiling back. 

TO BE CONTINUED… 

Author's Note: Hmm… How very odd… 


	8. Lawrence and Victoria?

Author's Note: Well, sorry if any of you were confused about the last chapter… I hope this chapter explains and makes up for it… And again, this fic will not include a lot of information from the fifth book, considering that I started writing it before the book came out. Thanks for all the reviews! They're very helpful without being too harsh.

Title: Partners in Love

Rating: PG

Spoilers: As always, _Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire_, but just a little bit. 

Summary: In Transfiguration class, Lily gets paired with James for the whole year and, well, you can guess what happens…

Disclaimer: Nope! Not me! I don't own anything except for… the non-famous stuff.

Setting: This story is set in Lily and James's days at Hogwarts. It starts out in 5th year. 

*** = setting change

__

italics = emphasis

~Lawrence and Victoria?~

The next morning, a shocked-looking Victoria shrieked, "You asked him? You actually asked him?" 

Danielle was sitting cross-legged on Victoria's bed. She nodded. "Yeah, I don't know what came over me," she said. "I just… I was sitting there with him, and it just came out." 

"I can't believe this! You've never done anything like this before," Victoria replied. 

Lily smirked. "Oh, please. Kendall obviously wasn't getting the hints. And Danielle has been determined to become his girlfriend for quite a while now. I mean, she likes him even more than she liked Sirius."

"She's right, you know," Alyssa spoke up, adjusting her robes. "Of all the boys you've liked, if you were going to ask any of them to be your boyfriend, it would be Kendall. Congratulations, Dani," she said with a small smile. She looked at Melanie, who was lying facedown on her bed. "Melanie," she called, shaking the blonde gently. "Wake up." 

Melanie's head shot straight up. She looked around wildly for a second, then calmed down. "Oh. Hi, Alyssa." 

"You all right?" Alyssa asked in concern. 

Melanie nodded. "Yeah, I just—I had a dream, and… memories… It's nothing. I'm fine." 

"Well, you'd better get dressed," Lily said. "We're going to be late for Charms."

Melanie nodded and went to the bathroom to get cleaned up. 

"Was it just me," Danielle asked, "or was she shaking?"

The four girls looked worriedly at each other.

*** 

James and Sirius sat in History of Magic class, staring sleepily off into space. The previous night had been a full moon. By the time James, Sirius, and Peter got back to Gryffindor Tower, the sun had begun to rise.

"Prongs, wake me when Binns is done flapping his ghostly jaw," Sirius said, putting his head on his arms and closing his eyes. 

James tried to nod, but exhaustion overcame him, and he left his head propped up on his hand instead. Besides, Sirius wasn't even looking at him; he was asleep. 

James heard Peter snoring behind him. He watched a few people take notes. He slowly turned his head and focused on the redhead in the second row. That was Evans, right? And the girl next to her was Alyssa. Yeah. He kept staring at Lily with half-lidded eyes. She wasn't a bad-looking girl. Actually, in this light, she was actually kind of pre—wait, what? Suddenly James wasn't sleepy anymore. Since when did he think Lily Evans was—pretty? 

James blinked and ran a hand through his already untidy hair. Well, all right, somewhere in his mind, he knew Lily was pretty, but he had never really thought about it until now. It was strange to be thinking of Lily like that. Fiery redhead, sure. Smart witch, certainly. But… pretty girl? Weird.

The bell rang, signaling the end of class. James nudged Sirius, who awoke with a start. 

Sirius shook his head in a rather dog-like manner, causing his hair to fall into his eyes. He blinked a few times and straightened up. He turned toward his best friend, only to find him staring at something across the room. No, wait. _Someone_. He followed James's gaze to… Lily Evans? Sirius blinked a few more times. Maybe he was still dreaming.

*** 

Victoria, Melanie, and Lily headed to Gryffindor Tower after Ancient Runes. As Lily opened her mouth to speak the password, a voice from behind her said, "Dung beetles."

The three girls turned around. Lawrence Parker was standing there, smiling. 

"Hi, Lawrence," Lily greeted him. 

Melanie said, "Hello." 

"H—Hi." Victoria's voice was shaky. Why did she have to be so nervous around him?

"Hi," Lawrence responded. He nodded toward the portrait hole. "Are you girls planning on going inside or letting her stay open all day?" he said, gesturing to the Fat Lady.

Melanie smiled and stepped inside. Lily followed her. 

Lawrence looked at Victoria. "Ladies first."

Victoria smiled and stepped inside just as Lily shouted, "Potter! What is the matter with you?"

Alyssa approached her brother from behind and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, quit blocking the entrance."

Lawrence rolled his eyes. "I was not blocking the entrance, Lyssa." He passed Victoria and headed for the boys' dormitories. "I'll see you later, Victoria."

Victoria suddenly felt very happy.

*** 

It was a cold day in early December when the headmaster of Hogwarts decided to make an announcement. During dinner, Professor Dumbledore stood and called for quiet. 

"Traditionally, Hogwarts does not allow for student parties. However, I think," he said, "that we all deserve to have a little fun. And so, we have decided to throw a Yule Ball."

The students started talking excitedly amongst themselves. 

The headmaster's light blue eyes twinkled. "The ball will take place at eight o'clock the night before the Christmas holiday."

Victoria glanced at Lawrence, who was sitting six places away. He was so handsome. He had the same brown hair and hazel eyes as his sister, but he was nothing like Alyssa. 

Lawrence felt someone's eyes on him and turned to see who was looking at him. He didn't see anyone staring at him, but his own gaze came to rest on a pretty black-haired girl. That was Victoria, one of his sister's friends. She seemed all right, though perhaps a bit jumpy at times.

One of his friend's voices cut into his thoughts. "Lawrence, who are you going to ask to the ball?" 

Lawrence shook his head and blinked. He felt like he had just come out of a trance.

"Lawrence? Hey, Parker, are you listening?"

"Sorry," Lawrence said. "Er—I don't know who I'm going to ask. I might not even go."

*** 

Remus Lupin sat with his friends in the shade of a large tree the weekend after the announcement of the Yule Ball was made. 

"Moony," asked Sirius, "are you going to be able to go to the ball?"

Remus looked at his friend. "Yes, I think so. It isn't a full moon that night."

"Who are you going to ask?" James asked, curious. 

Remus blushed and looked down. "Well, I was thinking I'd ask… Alyssa."

James smiled. "Good luck to you, mate."

"Thanks."

"How about you, Wormtail?" Sirius asked. "Any prospects?"

Peter squeaked, "Maybe—er—Melinda from Hufflepuff."

Sirius laughed. "Well, Prongs? Are you going to ask Lily Evans or what?" 

James's eyes widened as he turned on Sirius. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Figure it out yourself." Sirius stood up and brushed off his robes. "Well, I'm off. I promised Melanie I'd study with her today." He waved goodbye to his friends, then headed toward the castle.

"Is that Victoria?" James asked, squinting at someone standing by the lake. 

Peter looked and nodded. "Yeah, that's her."

"What's she doing?" 

"Looks like she's going to talk to someone."

"Oh. Well, anyway, how did you two do on our last Defense Against the Dark Arts exam?"

*** 

Lawrence was sitting by himself at the edge of the lake, reading a book. All of a sudden, a shadow fell over him, blocking the light. He looked up. Victoria Arlington was standing behind him. "Hello," Lawrence said. 

"Hello." Victoria bit her lip. "Do you mind if I sit down?" 

"Oh, no. Not at all." 

Victoria seated herself on the grass. "Nice day, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Are you going to the Yule Ball?" she asked.

"No, I don't have anyone to go with." Lawrence smiled at her. 

"Oh. You don't?"

Lawrence shook his head. "Unless—unless you'd like to go with me," he offered. 

"Yes!" Victoria shouted, a bit too loudly. "I'd love to go with you," she said, lowering her voice. 

"All right. See you then." Lawrence got up and headed toward the castle. 

Victoria sighed and lay down on the grass, closing her eyes. Life was good. She heard a familiar laugh coming from somewhere off to her left. Ah, yes. Lately, Danielle had been spending all of her free time with her new boyfriend. Victoria wasn't particularly concerned; she was happy for her best friend. 

"Hi, Vicky." 

Victoria opened her eyes. Two girls were looking amusedly down at her. "Hello, Lily. Hi, Alyssa."

Lily plopped down on the grass next to the dark-haired girl. "We saw you talking to Lawrence." 

"What did you talk about?" Alyssa asked, sitting down as well. 

"Oh, nothing," Victoria answered airily. "He just asked me to the ball."

"My brother?" Alyssa sounded shocked. She shook her head. "I don't even know why you want to go with him."

"You're just saying that because he's your brother," Lily said, rolling her eyes. 

"You'd say the same thing if something like this happened involving your sister."

"True."

"Hey, Evans!" James Potter's voice came floating over the field. 

Lily cringed. "Yes, Potter, what is it?" she yelled, looking over her shoulder. 

"I have detention tomorrow night, so you'll have to work on the project yourself!" 

Lily groaned. "Any other detentions I might want to know about?" 

James answered cheerily, "Wednesday and Thursday!" 

"Fine, but you'd better help me tonight, or Nearly-Headless Nick will soon be getting a new friend!" Lily retorted. 

"Feisty, isn't she?" James said to Remus and Peter. 

Lily looked away in disgust. "I should get a medal for putting up with that boy."

Victoria and Alyssa laughed. 

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: Hmm… I think I'm losing my touch. I tried to put more Lily/James in here, since that is supposed to be the main couple… What do you think? Oh, about the weird Melanie scene, um… it's supposed to be foreshadowing, kinda… Bah! I wish I could make things fit together better in my writing… I'm not so good with transitions and descriptions. 

BIG THANK YOU TO: freakyfroggurl22, Tigra and Loup, rosezgarden, Lucky-719, Forbidden, Guardian of the Moon, Bleeding Tears, punkkittin01, Thursday, Oliverwoodschic, Mistress del Mare, Little House Girl, Empress Genevieve, hplover13, JerseyGirl03, Toria, Spark1, Elvin Flame, Donzabobo, Queen of Hearts9, Shuen, SilentMidnight, inluvwithjames, Trinity Day, and all the anonymous reviewers!

Replies to: 

inluvwithjames: I hope this chapter is more to your liking. There's much more Lily/James to come in the future, so bear with me.

Tahlia Rose: As you requested, I have updated this fic. Sorry if I take too long sometimes. I get writer's block a lot, and I am constantly being distracted. Short attention span or something…

Trinity Day: Yes, sorry about the height thing… I know it's distracting, but I wanted it to be there for some odd reason… And it's been there for a while, and I can't bear to fiddle with the first chapter now… But thank you for your input. I'll keep it in mind for future fics. 


	9. May I Have This Dance?

Author's Note: Yay! I got lots of reviews! I'm so happy! Hehe.

Title: Partners in Love

Rating: PG

Spoilers: As always, _Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire_, but just a little bit. 

Summary: In Transfiguration class, Lily gets paired with James for the whole year and, well, you can guess what happens…

Disclaimer: Nope! Not me! I don't own anything except for… the non-famous stuff.

Setting: This story is set in Lily and James's days at Hogwarts. It starts out in 5th year. 

*** = setting change

__

italics = emphasis

__

italics = thoughts

~May I Have This Dance?~

"James?" 

James turned toward the sound of the soft female voice. He was a bit surprised to find that it was Melanie who had called him. "Hi, Melanie. Did you need something?" 

The blonde answered, "Well, Lily's been going through a lot lately, and I was wondering if maybe you could lay off the teasing a bit." Seeing that the dark-haired boy was still confused, she added, "Christmas is next week. She's really going to feel the loss of her parents when she realizes that she has nowhere to go for the holidays." 

"Oh." James hadn't thought about it that way before. "Sure, Melanie. I'll stop teasing her so much." 

Melanie nodded and left. 

James pondered. Melanie had asked him to stop bothering Lily, but maybe there was something else he could do as well...

*** 

"Are you going home for Christmas?" 

"Yeah, are you?" 

"Of course! My mum makes the best Christmas dinner ever! I can't wait!" 

As the two chattering Ravenclaws passed by, Lily sighed. _Her_ mother wasn't going to make Christmas dinner for her this year. Actually, Lily's mum wasn't in a position to be doing much of anything at the moment. _Oh no. Not the tears again,_ she thought. 

"Evans!" an annoyingly cheerful voice called out from behind her. 

Lily closed her eyes briefly. _I don't need this right now. _"Potter, please go away. I have no time for you and whatever inane thing you have to say today." 

By then, James had caught up to her. He looked at her sideways and said, "Oh, but it's important." 

"You think everything you have to say is important," retorted the redhead. 

James thought about that. "That may be true, but Sirius is worse!" 

Lily rolled her eyes. 

"Just listen. Um, well, I was wondering if—since you don't have anywhere to go for Christmas—if you wanted to—uh—stay at my house," James said. He braced himself for her reply, certain that she would say no. 

Lily stared at the raven-haired boy, stunned. Why was he being so nice to her? "Er, I guess," Lily said, finally finding her voice. "It's okay with your parents?" 

James nodded. "Mum seemed very excited in her reply letter… Oh, by the way, Sirius is staying with me too." 

"Oh." 

*** 

Professor McGonagall stood in front of the class, trying to get the students to quiet down. Her tactics did not seem to be working, however. The Marauders were being more rowdy than usual, and she had taken away almost seventy points from Gryffindor House because of them. "All right, students! Seeing as we are clearly not going to do much learning today, I am giving you all a day off. But," she continued, noticing the gleeful looks on the Marauders' faces, "no more pranks."

James and Sirius had each received three detentions in the past half hour, and Peter had received one. Even Remus had come close to getting a detention. The Marauders saluted the professor and put down their wands.

Sirius was talking to Remus behind him, so James turned to Lily. "So…"

"Yes, Potter?" Lily said, keeping her voice level with obvious effort. 

"I thought we called a truce," James said, absentmindedly messing with his hair. 

Lily replied, "We did. Which is why I haven't yelled at you yet."

James grinned. "Am I really that terrible?"

The red-haired girl rested her chin on her hand and looked at him. 

"Oh," James said, realizing what the look meant. He looked down. 

Lily peered closer. Was it just her, or did he look a little—sad? She sighed. "You're not _that _bad. Thank you for inviting me to your house," she said sincerely. 

James smiled. "You're welcome." He paused, then asked, "Are you going to the ball?"

"No. I don't have anyone to go with, and I don't really want to go anyway." 

"Lily?" Melanie's voice reached Lily's ears. 

"Mel?" Lily asked. "What is it?" 

Melanie's blue eyes had a strange look in them. "I—never mind." She turned away, a lost expression on her face. 

James looked concerned. "Is she all right?" he whispered to his partner. 

"I don't know. I really don't know."

Meanwhile, in the back of the room, Kendall and Danielle were being the most sickeningly sweet couple Victoria had ever seen. 

__

How many more times can they compliment each other? she thought. _I can't stand sitting here, listening to anymore of this. _She tapped Alyssa on the shoulder. "I wonder how much longer Dani and Kendall can say nice things to each other."

Alyssa laughed. "Who knows?" She glanced at the couple, then said, "You know, maybe they're under a spell."

A Hufflepuff from the other side of the room called Victoria's name. 

Victoria looked up. She said apologetically to Alyssa, "I'll see you later, all right?"

Alyssa nodded. 

Victoria crossed the room to see who had called her. 

Remus, having finished his conversation with Sirius, looked at Alyssa. He still had not had the nerve to ask her to the ball. At the moment, Alyssa was reading a novel. In fact, she was rather engrossed in it. 

Remus leaned over and asked, "What are you reading?"

Alyssa looked up. "Oh, hello, Remus." Then, remembering that he had asked her a question, added, "This book? It's about a girl in love with a werewolf." 

The brown-haired boy stared. "Do—do you like it?" he asked.

"Yes, it's really interesting. See, the girl—"

"Will you go to the Yule Ball with me?" Remus blurted out. 

The other three Marauders turned their heads in his direction, suddenly very interested in what he was saying. 

Alyssa was taken off guard. "You—"

"I'll understand if you don't want to. Maybe you're going with someone else. I shouldn't have asked you so late. Actually, I shouldn't have asked you. Forget I said anything," Remus said, all in one breath. He looked down at his desk.

"Remus, I would love to go with you." Alyssa smiled. "Thank you for asking me."

Remus smiled shyly at her. 

"Way to go, Moony!" James said. 

Everyone started laughing. 

*** 

An hour before the ball, Gryffindor Tower was bustling with loads of nervous energy. The students were getting ready for the ball. Dress robes of various colors were pulled out of trunks. 

"Prongs, why didn't you ask Lily to the ball?" Sirius asked, looking at himself in the mirror. He was wearing black dress robes with silver embroidery. He looked even more handsome than usual, though it hadn't really occurred to him. 

James shot his best friend an exasperated look. "Padfoot, Evans wouldn't have gone with me even if I had asked her. And why would I want to ask her anyway?" he said. 

Kendall, who was wearing red dress robes, said, "James, if you don't know, then you're even more hopeless than Lily thinks."

"Oh, just go see your girlfriend and tell her how pretty she looks. Again," James retorted, pushing the other boy out of the room. 

Peter, wearing maroon robes, said, "I think you should have asked her, James."

"Wormtail, don't you turn on me too."

Remus, shod in secondhand dress robes that were slightly too large for him, asked, "Do you think Alyssa will have a good time at the ball with me?"

"Moony, of course she will," Sirius reassured him. "Just like Marie will have a good time with me." Sirius had asked a Ravenclaw fifth year named Marie to go with him to the ball. 

James put on his green dress robes. Since Peter _had_ asked Melinda to go with him, James was the only Marauder going stag (excuse the pun). "I don't need Evans around to have fun. I will be fine by myself."

*** 

"Are you sure you don't want to go, Lily?" asked Danielle, turning away from the mirror. 

Lily nodded. "With all of you gone, I'll finally have some time to myself," she said, grinning. 

"Well," Danielle declared, "I have to meet my boyfriend downstairs. See you."

Victoria rolled her eyes. "Dani, you don't have to rub it in. We are well aware of the fact that Kendall is your boyfriend." 

Danielle grinned. "Well, I'm just really happy that we're together." She went downstairs, bouncing with each step. 

Melanie, clad in dark blue dress robes, said to Lily, "I'm sure it will be fun. Are you sure you don't want to come?"

"I'm sure." 

"All right," Alyssa said. "We're leaving now. You'll be okay by yourself?"

"Yes! Just go already!" Lily answered, slightly annoyed.

"Come on," Victoria said, pushing Melanie and Alyssa out the door.

*** 

Lawrence was waiting in the common room when Victoria arrived. He thought she looked pretty in her dark violet robes. 

Victoria approached him. "You look nice," she said. 

"So do you."

Victoria blushed. "Thank you." 

"Well, let's go." Lawrence took her by the arm and led her out of the portrait hole. 

*** 

A few minutes before the ball was scheduled to begin, the entrance hall was packed full of excited, chattering students. 

Remus lost Alyssa for a minute, then located her again, spotting her light blue dress robes. "Alyssa," he called. 

Alyssa pushed her way past a couple of Slytherins and stood by Remus's side once again. "Sorry," she said. "There are just so many people!"

"It's okay." Remus smiled at her as the doors to the Great Hall opened. He took her hand. "Let's go."

*** 

Danielle pulled Kendall onto the dance floor. 

"Dani, do we have to?"

"Yes," she said. "This is a ball, Kendall. We're supposed to dance."

Kendall grinned. "All right, but I'm only doing this for you."

*** 

Sirius was bored. And when Sirius was bored, he went straight to his best friend. 

"James," he said, plopping down in the chair next to James, "I'm bored."

"So am I," James replied. No one had asked him to dance, he had not asked anyone to dance, and he was not having fun. He had been sitting at a table for about half an hour, staring at the ceiling. "Padfoot, I'm going to leave." 

"What? You're going to just leave me here?!" 

"You're here with Marie!"

Sirius gestured vaguely at a group of girls and boys on the dance floor. "She's dancing with her friends or something. I wasn't really listening." 

James shook his head. "I'm going back to Gryffindor Tower. Have some fun here. Play a prank. Whatever. I'll see you later." 

*** 

Lily was curled up in an armchair by the fire with a photo album lying open on her lap. The pictures in this particular album didn't move. They had been taken before Lily had discovered that she was a witch. 

Lily tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She flipped through the album, remembering happy days she had spent with her parents. Her eyes welled up with tears. She let the tears roll down her cheeks, not even bothering to wipe them away. 

"Evans?" The voice of James Potter reached her ears. 

Lily looked up, her vision blurred. 

"Here," James said. 

Lily felt a handkerchief being pressed into her hand. "Thank you," she whispered.

"I'll be right back," James told her. He went upstairs to his room. 

When he returned a few minutes later, he was carrying his broomstick. "Come on," he said to Lily, who handed him his handkerchief. He took her hand and pulled her out of the chair. 

"Where are we going?" Lily asked, puzzled. 

"You'll see," James replied mysteriously.

***

James led Lily to the Quidditch pitch.

"Potter, why did you bring me here?" Lily asked, pulling away from him. 

James said simply, "Well, you look sad, so I'm going to cheer you up."

"How?" Suspicion crept into Lily's voice.

James mounted his broom. He extended a hand to Lily. "Get on."

Lily shook her head vigorously. "No way. I don't trust you."

James tilted his head. "Have I ever harmed you, Evans?"

"No," the redhead said slowly.

"Well?"

Lily considered for a moment, then stepped forward and climbed on the back of James's broom. 

"Hold on," the black-haired boy said as he kicked off the ground. 

Lily's green eyes went wide as she felt her feet leave the ground with shocking speed. She wrapped her arms around James's waist, determined to stay on the broom. She had never really been that fond of heights. 

James flew through the air, enjoying the feel of the wind in his hair. He loved flying. It was so exhilarating. He did some flips and turns.

Lily automatically tightened her grip as James twisted the broom, flipping the two of them upside-down. She buried her face in the back of James's robes. 

James glanced over his shoulder as he turned the broom right side up. "Evans, what are you doing?" he asked, chuckling. 

"I'm not looking!" Lily yelled.

"Why not?"

"Because you're flying like a maniac!"

James stopped and hovered high above the Hogwarts grounds. "I am not." He looked down at the castle, which now resembled a child's toy. "You have to see this."

"I don't want to," Lily replied. 

"Come on, live a little!" James said, adjusting his glasses. "And you might want to consider loosening your grip. I might get the wrong idea," he teased. 

Lily gasped and pulled away from him. She looked up to find James staring intently at her in amusement. 

Their eyes met, and James found himself thinking that Lily had amazing eyes. 

Lily turned her attention to the view before her. "Everything looks so small," she remarked. 

"Ready?" James asked. "We're going to go pretty fast," he informed her. "Don't hide this time." He grinned, then pointed the broom toward the ground. 

"Aah!" Lily screamed, half in fear, half in delight. This was actually kind of fun. She laughed gleefully as James went through a series of loops. 

Now James was flying faster. He was suddenly overcome by a case of the butterflies. But he never had that feeling when he was flying. So why was he getting it now? He glanced at the face of the girl behind him. It made him feel good to replace Lily's tears with smiles and laughter. 

"I love this! Why have I never done this before?" Lily asked. "I've never flown this high or this fast!"

"You don't have the guts, that's why!" James answered. 

"You won't have any either if you keep talking," Lily shot back. 

James grinned. Lily was so feisty. That was why it was fun to tease her. Plus, she knew how to make a good comeback, which was commendable. 

After a few more minutes of demonstrating his flying skills, James came in for a landing. The two teenagers tumbled into the grass, laughing. 

Lily sat up and sighed. "I have to admit, Potter, that was really fun."

James just grinned. 

Suddenly something occurred to Lily. "Why did you come back from the ball so soon?"

"Oh," said James. "I thought it was boring, so I left. Then I saw you sitting in the common room all by yourself, and…" He shrugged.

"Well, thank you. I feel much better." Lily shot him a sideways glance and started laughing. 

"What is it?"

"Your hair—" Lily giggled. 

James felt the top of his head. His hair was sticking up in about a thousand places. "Honestly, Sirius's hair never gives him this much trouble. Why is mine so hopeless?" he said, raking his fingers through it. All that managed to do was cause it to stick up even more. 

"Here, I'll do it," Lily said. She ran her fingers through his hair, and within seconds, it looked much better. Lily was amazed at how soft it was. She pulled back and took a look at him.

James touched his hair. It wasn't tidy exactly, but then again, when was it ever? "Thanks," he said. 

Lily felt her face grow hot. She looked away from James. Why was she feeling so strange? It was probably just because she had been around James Potter for so long. She stood up and brushed herself off. 

James followed suit. He picked up his broom. "Want to go back?"

Lily nodded. 

The two headed back to the castle. When they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Lily said, "I had fun tonight." 

"So did I," James replied.

"This doesn't mean we're friends," Lily said quickly. 

James looked down and nodded. "Of course not."

With a kinder tone in her voice, Lily said, "At least not yet." 

James smiled.

TO BE CONTINUED… 

Author's Note: All right, since so many people have a problem with the weird height thing in the first chapter, I have revised it. If you want to, read the new version and see how you like it. Sorry that I took so long to change it. I was just lazy or something… Sorry! Um… Did you like this chapter? I liked writing it. I kinda got away from the L/J before, but I hope I did a good job coming back to it. 


	10. To Be or Not to Be?

Author's Note: Yay! I reached 100 reviews! *grin*

Title: Partners in Love

Rating: PG

Spoilers: As always, _Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire_, but just a little bit. 

Summary: In Transfiguration class, Lily gets paired with James for the whole year and, well, you can guess what happens…

Disclaimer: Nope! Not me! I don't own anything except for… the non-famous stuff.

Setting: This story is set in Lily and James's days at Hogwarts. It starts out in 5th year. 

*** = setting change

__

italics = emphasis

__

italics = thoughts

~To Be or Not to Be?~

Melanie sat down at a table and closed her eyes. All this dancing was making her dizzy. Four boys had requested dances from her, and Melanie, being Melanie, couldn't refuse them. She stared silently at the people around her. She wished Lily had come to the ball. Then she'd have someone to talk to. All her other friends had come with dates. Melanie hadn't been asked by anyone, and she didn't have the nerve to ask a boy herself. So, she had come alone, and she was now feeling somewhat uncomfortable. 

Melanie ran a hand through her hair. Maybe she should look for Alyssa. Alyssa would talk to her, even though she was here with Remus. But then, Melanie suspected that Alyssa fancied Remus. She wouldn't want to intrude. She sighed. 

*** 

Victoria and Lawrence sat down at a table with Kendall. Danielle was still on the dance floor, dancing with a large group of girls. 

Kendall pulled his gaze away from his girlfriend and turned to Victoria. "Victoria, do you have any idea what I should get Danielle for Christmas?"

Victoria thought for a moment. "She likes puppies."

Lawrence chuckled. "And just how is he supposed to send her a puppy by owl?"

"Oh, right." Victoria looked away bashfully. 

Kendall said, "Do you think she'd like—"

He was interrupted by a loud banging sound from the other side of the room. They all turned to look. Sirius, Remus, and Peter were covered in unrecognizable bits of food, smiling sheepishly. 

"I told you not to do it," Remus said. 

Peter hurriedly began brushing off his robes. 

Sirius waved his wand, returning the three of them to normal. "It just isn't the same without Prongs," he sighed. 

Alyssa was standing a few feet away from them, giggling. "Sirius, can't you go for a few hours without pulling a prank?"

"No, he can't," Remus said, absentmindedly tugging on his sleeve.

Back on the other side of the Great Hall, Danielle sat down next to Kendall, tired of dancing. She was out of breath. Kendall put his arm around her. "Dani, do you want something to drink?" 

Danielle nodded. Kendall went to fetch her a drink. 

"Danielle," Victoria said, "remember to send me a letter the day before Christmas." 

"Don't worry, I will." Danielle grinned. It was tradition for them to send each other Christmas owls. 

Kendall returned with a beverage for Danielle. "Here," he said, handing it to her. 

"Thanks." Danielle opened the bottle and downed about half of it in ten seconds. 

A slow song started playing. 

Lawrence smiled at his date. "May I have this dance?"

"Certainly." Victoria giggled. 

*** 

Sirius made his way through the crowd. He spotted Melanie sitting by herself at a table. He sat down next to her. "Hey, partner." 

Melanie looked up. "Hello, Sirius."

"Are you having fun?"

Melanie didn't answer. She looked rather sullen. 

"Are you all right?" Sirius asked in concern. 

Melanie tried to smile, but failed. "I think I need some air," she said finally.

"Let's go," Sirius replied immediately. He stood up. 

"Aren't you here with someone?" asked the blonde.

Sirius looked around. "Yes, but I can't seem to find her, so…" He shrugged. "Eh, she's not for me. Come on, we're going outside."

Melanie took the hand he offered her and followed him out of the Great Hall, careful not to trip on her dress robes. She relaxed when she got outside. 

Sirius looked up at the night sky, which was dotted with stars. "So why did you want to come out here?" he asked, still looking up.

Melanie replied, "I didn't feel comfortable with all those people and all of that noise."

Sirius said, "But you feel comfortable out here alone with me?" He looked at her to gauge her expression. 

"Well… yes." Melanie suddenly found her shoes very interesting.

Sirius smiled. 

"I didn't get very good marks on my last Transfiguration exam," Melanie told him.

"Oh?"

"Would you mind—er—"

"Giving you some extra help again?" Sirius finished for her.

Melanie nodded. 

"Of course not," Sirius replied. "We'll start after the holidays." He looked at her and found himself staring into the deep blue depths of her eyes.

Melanie smiled a slow, sweet smile. "Thanks."

"Beautiful," Sirius murmured. 

"What?" 

Sirius shook his head. "Nothing," he said quickly. What was the matter with him? Why did he feel so strange? 

"I think I'll head back and keep Lily company," Melanie said. "This ball isn't working out quite as well as I hoped it would."

Sirius replied, "She's probably not alone. James left a while ago." 

"James?" Melanie smiled. "I'm glad he and Lily are getting along better now."

Sirius grinned. "So am I. Although it _was _rather entertaining to watch their little spats." 

*** 

Alyssa sat down in a chair, slightly out of breath. Beside her, Remus was sitting with his head on the table. 

Concerned, Alyssa asked, "Are you all right?"

"Hmm?" Remus looked up at her. "Oh, I'm fine. Just a little tired." He sat up. "So…"

"So."

"Have you read any good books lately?" he asked, unable to think of anything else to say.

Alyssa nodded enthusiastically. She nearly fell off her chair. "I told you about one this morning. The one about the girl and the werewolf?"

"Yes, I remember. Want to tell me about it?" Remus asked. 

"Well, this girl is in love with a werewolf, but she doesn't know he's a werewolf." Alyssa's hazel eyes were brighter than usual. She continued, "Later on, he tells her his secret. The girl doesn't know what to do. She can't decide whether or not to stay with him. And at the end—oh, I shouldn't tell you the end."

"No, it's all right," Remus said. "Tell me."

"Well," Alyssa said slowly, "eventually, she realizes that it doesn't matter that he's different. They get married and live happily ever after." She blushed. "Now it sounds silly. But I love it. I guess I'm just a romantic at heart."

"It doesn't sound silly," Remus assured her. "It sounds nice. I think—"

"Alyssa!" Kendall called. "Dani and Victoria want to talk to you."

"I'll be right back," Alyssa said, getting up. 

Remus sighed. 

All of a sudden, Sirius Black appeared before him. "Moony, I'm going to take Mel back to Gryffindor Tower. Are you going to be all right?" 

Remus glanced at Peter, who passed by with his date. Then he saw Alyssa coming toward him. "I'll be fine," he said with a small smile. 

Sirius followed Remus's gaze. He laughed quietly to himself. _So that's how it is, eh, Moony?_

*** 

Melanie stepped into the Gryffindor common room, which was deserted except for two people. Sirius followed her inside. He struggled to keep himself from laughing at the sight that greeted him.

Lily and James were playing a game of wizard chess. Both of them were completely silent, their heads bent over the chessboard. Their faces displayed intense concentration. 

Finally, James made a move. Lily countered it and said, "Checkmate."

James threw up his hands. "Evans, you've done it again," he said, not sounding very disappointed at all. 

Lily grinned. 

The two suddenly took notice of their audience. 

"Hello," James and Lily said simultaneously.

Melanie seated herself next to Lily. Sirius sat in a chair across from the girls. 

James cleared his throat. After he and Lily had returned from the Quidditch field, he had changed out of his dress robes into more comfortable clothes. "What are you doing for Christmas, Melanie?" he asked, curious.

"I'm spending Christmas with my mother," the blonde replied. "We're not doing anything special."

"What about your fa—" He was silenced by a warning look from Lily. 

Melanie stood abruptly. "I'm tired. Goodnight." She went to her dormitory. 

Sirius asked, "What's wrong with Melanie?"

Lily sighed. "Her father died on Christmas Day," she explained. 

"Oh," James said. "I didn't know. I should go apologize to her."

"No. Don't. Just leave her alone," Lily said. "She'll be fine." 

Sirius wondered if Melanie really would be okay. 

TO BE CONTINUED… 

Author's Note: So what did you think? Lots of L/J in the next chapter! 

BIG THANK YOU TO: freakyfroggurl22, Tigra and Loup, rosezgarden, Lucky-719, Forbidden, Guardian of the Moon, Bleeding Tears, punkkittin01, Thursday, Oliverwoodschic, Mistress del Mare, Little House Girl, Empress Genevieve, hplover13, JerseyGirl03, Toria, Spark1, Elvin Flame, Donzabobo, the Five of Spades, Shuen, SilentMidnight, inluvwithjames, Trinity Day, lightyearsaway, Prof. Luna Sinistra, Be Summer Rain, choco1207, tomzgurl77, brunet-barbie-84, KazeTenshi, Lisa Meunier, Kat44, Adriana Chan, and all the anonymous reviewers!

Replies to:

Little House Girl: Haha, well, I suppose by now it should be somewhat obvious that I'm going to have a Melanie/Sirius pairing. 

Padfoot4Ever: Oh, the height thing… See, originally, I put the heights of the characters in the first chapter… But it was really weird and I got a few complaints, so it's been revised… 


	11. Do You Like It?

Author's Note: Well, I see you've all been anxiously awaiting this chapter, so here it is!

Title: Partners in Love

Rating: PG

Spoilers: As always, _Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire_, but just a little bit. 

Summary: In Transfiguration class, Lily gets paired with James for the whole year and, well, you can guess what happens…

Disclaimer: Nope! Not me! I don't own anything except for… the non-famous stuff.

Setting: This story is set in Lily and James's days at Hogwarts. It starts out in 5th year. 

*** = setting change

__

italics = emphasis

__

italics = thoughts

~Do You Like It?~

James, Lily, and Sirius stepped off the Hogwarts Express. 

"James! James, over here!" a woman called out. She turned to her husband. "Look, it's—"

The man smiled and replied, "I see him, dear." 

James looked at the woman who had called his name and smiled. "Come on," he said to his two companions. "Bye!" he said to Remus and Peter over his shoulder. He and Sirius were halfway to the place where the Potters were standing when James noticed that Lily was no longer with them. The boy whirled around, looking for red hair and green eyes. "Evans!" he shouted, seeing Lily talking to Alyssa and Danielle. 

Lily quickly got her things, said a hurried goodbye to her friends, and rushed over to where the two boys were waiting for her. 

"You—" James began.

"I was just saying goodbye," Lily said in a tone that dared James to say anything more about the matter. 

James did not take the bait. "Whatever, Evans. Come on." 

Sirius laughed quietly to himself. James wouldn't admit it, but he was definitely warming up to Lily. 

"James!" Mrs. Potter rushed over to her son and enveloped him in a bone-crushing hug. 

James winced. "Ow. Mum, you're hurting me."

"Oh." She let go of him. "I'm sorry. I just get excited when you come home." She smiled. "So how have you been? Is the food there as good as it used to be? Are you doing well in your classes?"

Mr. Potter stepped forward. "Please, Amelia, would you let a man see his son?" 

His wife sheepishly stepped aside. 

"Hi, Dad." 

"Hello, son," Harold greeted James warmly. 

"Sirius!" Amelia exclaimed, holding the boy at arm's length. "My, you've grown! It's so good to see you again!" 

"You too, Mrs. Potter," Sirius said. After being squeezed affectionately by Amelia, he shook hands with Harold. 

"And this must be the young lady you told us about," Amelia said to James, looking at Lily. 

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Potter," Lily said shyly. "I'm Lily Evans." 

Amelia smiled. "She's very charming," she remarked, looking at her son. "Very pretty too." 

Lily blushed, James sighed, and Sirius grinned. 

*** 

"I'm simply delighted that the two of you are staying for Christmas," Amelia said to Sirius and Lily as they entered what could only be described as a mansion. "It'll be nice to have other children to spoil rotten for once." 

"_Mum_," James said exasperatedly. 

"What, dear?"

Harold placed the last of the three teenagers' belongings into the house, then straightened up and informed them that he would be back later. "I really must finish a few things at work before I can enjoy the holidays." He left the house. 

"Sirius, you'll be in your usual room," Amelia said. "Plonky will help you get settled." 

At the mention of her name, a house-elf ran into the room and stopped in front Sirius. "Can I help you, sir?" Plonky grabbed Sirius's heavy trunk and started for the stairs. 

Lily was surprised. "Can she manage that?" she asked. 

"Oh, Plonky will be fine," James answered. "House-elves have a way of doing these things." 

"Oh." 

"Lily, Bippy will show you your room," Amelia told the girl. "Here he is now." 

Another house-elf, male this time, appeared next to Lily. "Do you need help, miss?" 

Lily blinked. 

*** 

Lily sat on the bed she had been given to sleep in, brushing her hair. This year was turning out completely different from the way she had expected it to. Instead of enduring several agonizing months of James torturing her and then going home to her family, she was sitting in James's house as his guest. He was actually being nice to her for once. Why?

"Hey." James was standing at the entrance to the guestroom, leaning on the doorjamb. 

Lily looked up at his tall figure. "Yes?" she said, putting down her brush.

"Just wanted to see if you were settled." He looked around the room. "I guess you're fine."

"Your parents are nice," Lily said. "Are you sure they don't mind my staying here?"

James shook his head. "Sirius comes over all the time. My parents like having my friends over. I think my mum likes it because I don't have any brothers or sisters."

The high, squeaky voice of Plonky announced dinner. 

"Come on, Evans," James said, heading downstairs. 

Lily didn't move.

"Evans, are you coming or not?"

Lily got up and hurried downstairs.

*** 

"Pass the salt, please," James said to Sirius. 

Sirius picked up the salt and said, "Give me the butter, would you?"

The two boys handed each other what they wanted. 

"So, James," Amelia said, picking up her glass, "tell us what you've been doing at school."

Sirius and James glanced at each other. 

James cleared his throat. "Oh, the usual," he said airily. "Classes, Quidditch, wizard chess… Nothing special."

"You haven't been getting in trouble, have you?" asked Harold.

Lily snorted. 

James shot her a look. "Er—well…"

Amelia looked disappointed. "James dear, you said you'd try not to get in trouble as much this year."

"I know, Mum," James said apologetically. "I'm sorry. I'm trying. Really, I am."

Sirius said, "Yes, he hasn't gotten as many detentions as he did last year."

Amelia smiled fondly. "Well, as long as you're trying. How are your classes?"

"Transfiguration's different this year," replied James. "Professor McGonagall gave us partners."

"Tell them who your partner is," Sirius said, hiding a grin. 

"I'm his partner," Lily said quietly. 

"Oh?" Amelia said.

Harold asked, "How about Quidditch?"

"We've been winning so far," James answered. His face brightened. "I think we really have a good chance of winning the Quidditch Cup this year."

The rest of the meal continued like that. Lily watched as James had pleasant conversation with his parents, with a few comments from Sirius. There was no fighting, no arguing, no awkward silence. Everything was perfect.

"I'm going to take a walk," Lily announced after she finished eating. "Thank you for the meal, Mr. and Mrs. Potter."

"You're quite welcome, Lily dear," responded Amelia, smiling kindly. 

Lily put on her coat and stepped out into the cool night air. 

James swallowed the mouthful he had been chewing and pushed away his plate. "I'm not very hungry tonight," he declared, standing up. "May I be excused?"

Harold nodded his assent. 

James walked out the front door. 

*** 

"Evans, wait up."

Lily heard the familiar voice, but paid it no mind. She wanted to be alone. After all, that's how she'd be for the rest of her life. Alone. All alone. With her parents gone and her sister not even on speaking terms with her, Lily was essentially alone. She closed her eyes and exhaled. 

"Evans."

Lily kept walking. 

"Lily."

Lily stopped. "Leave me alone," she said. 

"Why?" James ran to catch up to her. "What's wrong?"

Lily started walking again, this time at a faster pace. 

"Talk to me."

"No."

"Please?"  


"Everything in that house is perfect," Lily said, turning around and pointing to the Potter mansion. "Go. Go back to your perfect house and your perfect family, Potter. Leave me alone."

James took a step closer to her. "Why?"  


"Can't I wallow in my own misery without your bothering me?" 

James looked concerned. "Look, just come back to the house. I'm sure—"

"I can't stay in there any longer. None of that in there is mine, and I can't pretend that it is." Lily stared at the beautiful house. "When I'm in there, I am reminded of everything I have lost."

The boy remained silent.

"Voldemort took everything away from me," Lily said. "Everything! I don't have a house anymore. I don't have a home. My parents are dead! Any chance I might have had of being friends with my sister is gone! And all because of him! All because my parents had no magic and weren't able to protect themselves!" She sat down hard on the ground. "I envy you, Potter."

James crouched down in front of her. "What do I have that you don't?" 

Lily's green eyes met James's hazel ones. "A happy home. My—my parents were great. But my sister… She wasn't very fond of me. And you're rich. I mean, just look at this house. Even at school," she said, "everything comes so easily to you. You get good marks despite the fact that you play around all the time and barely study at all. I have worked so hard to get where I am. But you—you do even better, and you don't have to try as hard."

"That's not true."

"Isn't it?" 

James sighed. "Come on. I think you need some sleep." He put a hand on her shoulder. 

"Don't treat me like a child!" Lily said loudly, squirming away.

"Then stop acting like one!" 

Lily stopped. 

James tried again. "Go to sleep. I'm sure you'll feel better in the morning."

Lily got to her feet. She stared at James for a moment. At a loss for words, she ran back to the house.

*** 

Amelia was sitting by the fire, reading a book, when she noticed a teenage girl rush past the doorway and up the stairs. James appeared in the doorway a second later. 

"Was that Lily?" Amelia asked.

"Hi, Mum," James said, avoiding the question completely.

"Come here, James," Amelia said, patting the spot next to her. 

James obeyed. 

"Now tell me: why did you invite Lily Evans to spend Christmas with us?"

James shrugged. "Her parents died recently. They were Muggles, and they were killed by Lord Voldemort. She had nowhere to go for Christmas, so I invited her here."

Amelia gasped. "How very awful! Oh, that poor girl! Well, it was very sweet of you to invite her, dear." Amelia stroked his hair and said fondly, "We really _must_ do something about this hair of yours."

James grinned. "I inherited it from you, Mum."

"Oh, you." Amelia smiled. "Go to bed." 

"Good night." James kissed his mother on the cheek and headed up the stairs. 

Amelia sat there for a minute. Harold came in and took the seat that James had vacated earlier.

Amelia looked at her husband. "Harry dear, do you think our son has taken a liking to Lily Evans?"

Harold smiled. "All I know is that I've seen him looking at her the same way I looked at you at that age."

"She does seem to be a rather nice girl," mused Amelia. "Polite, pretty. And she seems to be able to handle James, which is good, considering he _can _be a handful at times." 

*** 

The next morning, Lily was back to normal. She exchanged a few insults with James, glared at Sirius, then sat down for breakfast. 

"So what are you children doing today?" Harold asked at breakfast.

James finished his piece of toast and said, "I wanted to finish my Christmas shopping."

"So did I," Sirius added. He helped himself to another sausage.

"All right," Amelia said. "Do you want us to go with you?"

"No, I think we'll be fine," James answered. He turned to Lily. "You want to come, Evans?"

Lily looked up. Everyone was looking at her. She swallowed her mouthful of food and put down her fork. "Sure," she said.

"Where shall we go then?" inquired Sirius. 

"Diagon Alley," James replied immediately. 

After the meal, the three teenagers traveled to Diagon Alley by Floo powder. 

*** 

At the end of the day, Sirius and Lily were carrying lots of presents for all their friends. James had a present for everyone except Lily. He wasn't quite sure what to get for a girl as complicated as Lily Evans. 

The three walked along, passing several window displays. James looked at the displays, uninterested in any of them. Suddenly, he saw one that sparked his interest. Sirius and Lily stopped in surprise as James ducked into the shop. A minute later, he reappeared with a small package tucked under his arm. 

"What's that?" Lily asked, trying to get a closer look. 

James moved away. "It's a surprise, Evans."

"Let's go home," Sirius said. "My arms are about ready to fall off."

***

Two days later, the three teenagers were sitting at the kitchen table, wondering what to do for the day. 

"I'm bored," James declared. 

"Me too," Sirius added.

Lily stood up suddenly. "Come on, both of you," Lily said. "We are going to have some fun. The Muggle way," she added. "You boys are really hopeless about such things."

James stared. Sirius shrugged. 

"So how are we getting to… wherever we're going?" asked James. 

"We're going on the Underground, of course," Lily said simply. 

"The _what_?" Sirius and James said at the same time. 

Lily shook her head and sighed.

*** 

"Sirius!" Lily ran in one direction. "Potter!" Lily ran in another direction. 

"Ow—ow—ow!"

Lily was twisting both boys' ears. 

"Evans, let go!" 

"Lily, you're hurting me!" 

"I told you to follow me. I did _not _tell you to go up and down the escalators forty times!" Lily yelled, causing heads to turn in her direction.

"We only did it thirty-nine times," Sirius informed her, prying her fingers from his ear.

Lily closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. "Whatever. Let's just go," she said, letting go of James, who rubbed his ear gently. 

"Honestly, Evans," James said, "you need to work on your temper."

Lily sighed. 

***

"So _that's _what a telephone is," Sirius said. 

Lily laughed. "Yes, Sirius, that's what a telephone is." She and the boys were sitting on a park bench, eating ice cream. 

James shook his head in confusion. "I still don't understand."

"Of course you don't." The redhead smirked. 

"What is that supposed to mean?" demanded James. 

"Nothing," Lily replied, smiling sweetly. 

*** 

"So how was your day?" Amelia asked the kids when they returned. 

"It was so _weird_," James said, bouncing slightly. "There were these things called escalators, and—"

"They were so fun!" Sirius interjected. "We went up and down and—"

Lily pulled off her scarf and watched as the boys animatedly described their day. She turned around and bumped into Harold. 

Harold gestured to James and Sirius. "I take it you had quite an adventure," he said to Lily. 

Lily turned her head to look at the two excited Marauders. "Not really," she said. "Everything we did was normal for most Muggles." Suddenly, a messy-haired boy was in front of her.

"Evans, we have to do this again!" James said, eyes bright. 

"Sure," Lily said, edging away from the hyperactive young man.

***

"Merry Christmas!" 

Lily opened her eyes. James and Sirius were leaning over her, grinning like crazed maniacs. Lily was instantly awake.

"Come on! It's time to open the presents!"

Sirius ran out the door, followed by James. 

Lily got out of bed and rubbed her eyes. 

James stuck his head back in the room. "Evans, what are you waiting for?" 

Lily yawned. "How long have you been up?" she asked. 

"Two hours." 

"What time is it?"

"Six o'clock."

Lily stared at James. "Are you telling me that you have been awake since four?"

"Sirius was awake an hour before I was," James told her. 

Lily gaped at him.

*** 

"Excellent!" Sirius exclaimed. "Remus always gets me the right present!"

Sirius, James, and Lily were sitting by the Christmas tree, opening presents. Harold and Amelia were sitting on the couch, looking very sleepy. They had been roused from their slumber by their enthusiastic son. 

Lily had placed the presents she had gotten from Melanie, Alyssa, Victoria, and Danielle in a pile next to her. There was no present from her sister, but Lily hadn't really expected one. Finally, she got to the presents from the boys. She unwrapped Remus and Sirius's gifts in succession. Then she got to James's.

Lily carefully removed the gift-wrap from the present. She took the lid off the box. She let out a small gasp when she saw what lay inside. She lifted a beautiful, crystal locket out of the box. It was round, with an engraving of a lily on it. As the girl held it, the crystal began to change color. 

"It changes color with your emotions," James said. He was standing behind her, anxiously awaiting her reaction. 

"It's beautiful. Thank you." Lily struggled to open the clasp. 

"It won't open," said James, kneeling beside her. "Supposedly you'll be able to open it when it turns a certain color. When you open it, it'll show you your true love, no matter where he is."

Sirius spoke up, "Who do you expect she'll see, James?"

James glared at him. "I don't know, Sirius. Why don't you tell me?"

Sirius grinned. 

James got up and headed for the kitchen. 

"Wait," Lily called as James reached the doorway. 

James turned around. 

Lily handed him a box. "You didn't open my present yet." She gave him a small smile. 

James ripped off the wrappings to find a glass globe. Inside it was a figure on a broomstick. He held it in his hand and watched as the figure swooped and dived in midair. 

"It stops when you say 'Snitch' and starts when you say 'Quidditch,'" Lily said, demonstrating for him. 

"Thanks, I—"

"It's a thank-you present for letting me stay for Christmas," Lily interrupted. "That's the only reason I got you something so nice."

Sirius exclaimed in mock surprise, "Why, Lily, James, is that mistletoe the two of you are standing under?""

Amelia and Harold exchanged glances. 

Lily looked up. James didn't bother. He groaned and put his head in his hands.

"Now how did that get there?" mused Amelia. "It wasn't part of the decorations."

"I think I know," James replied, shooting death glares at his best friend. 

Harold looked amused. "Well, son, it _is _tradition," he said, trying not to laugh.

"Look, let's just get this over with," Lily sighed. 

James put his hand under her chin. He and Lily stared at each other for a moment. Then James leaned down and kissed her. Perhaps he held it a bit too long, because when he pulled away, Lily looked slightly flushed. 

"I'm going upstairs," the red-haired girl said. She took her presents up to her room without another word. 

James remained where he was, a dazed expression on his face. 

"So, Prongs," whispered Sirius, who had come closer (but not close enough to be under the mistletoe with James), "aren't you glad I took the liberty of putting up that mistletoe?" 

James didn't have an answer.

*** 

Meanwhile, Lily was upstairs, writing a letter. 

__

This is so embarrassing! James Potter kissed me! I can't believe he actually kissed me! Ugh!

Lily paused. She crossed out the last word. The kiss hadn't actually been _that _bad… It was just extremely weird. Well, maybe not _extremely_ weird. Lily finished the letter:

__

Anyway, tell me all about your Christmas. I'll be waiting.

Lily

Lily attached the piece of parchment to the Potters' owl's leg and instructed it to deliver the letter to Alyssa Parker. Then she got out a fresh roll of parchment and started a letter to Melanie. 

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: *grin* Merry Christmas! Oh wait, it's summer… 

BIG THANK YOU TO: freakyfroggurl22, Tigra and Loup, rosezgarden, Lucky-719, Forbidden, Guardian of the Moon, Bleeding Tears, punkkittin01, Thursday, Oliverwoodschic, Mistress del Mare, Little House Girl, Empress Genevieve, hplover13, JerseyGirl03, Toria, Spark1, Elvin Flame, Donzabobo, the Five of Spades, Shuen, SilentMidnight, inluvwithjames, Trinity Day, lightyearsaway, Prof. Luna Sinistra, Be Summer Rain, choco1207, tomzgurl77, brunet-barbie-84, KazeTenshi, Lisa Meunier, Kat44, Adriana Chan, Marmamalade, PuDdLe Of MuD, kitty-gurl1, Kathi, and all the anonymous reviewers!

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	12. How Did You Know?

Author's Note: Thanks so much for all the support! 

Title: Partners in Love

Rating: PG

Spoilers: As always, _Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire_, but just a little bit. 

Summary: In Transfiguration class, Lily gets paired with James for the whole year and, well, you can guess what happens…

Disclaimer: Nope! Not me! I don't own anything except for… the non-famous stuff.

Setting: This story is set in Lily and James's days at Hogwarts. It starts out in 5th year. 

*** = setting change

*~*= begin flashback

~*~ = end flashback

__

italics = emphasis

__

italics = thoughts

~How Did You Know?~

Melanie came down the stairs on Christmas morning to find her mother sitting at the table, drinking coffee. 

"Hi, Mum," Melanie said, padding over to the table. 

"Merry Christmas," Elizabeth said. "Are you going to open your presents?"

"Later," Melanie replied, sitting down.

Elizabeth took another sip. "Do you want breakfast?" she asked, looking into the swirling dark depths her mug. "I didn't make any for you because I know how late you sleep during the holidays, and I wasn't sure what time you were going to get up."

Melanie shook her head. "No, that's all right. Did I get any letters?"

Elizabeth pointed to the counter. "Two owls came for you. One woke me up, as a matter of fact. Honestly, I can't figure out why you people can't find some other way to send post." Elizabeth was a Muggle. Melanie's magic had come from her father's side.

Melanie examined her letters. One was from Alyssa, and the other was from Lily. She opened Alyssa's first. 

__

Dear Melanie, 

Merry Christmas! Hope you like my gift! 

Guess what? I think Lawrence is starting to like Vicky. When I sent Silence (you know, our owl) to Victoria's house to deliver her present, my brother came in and asked if he could put his name on the card. He even paid me for half of it! 

Anyway, I love your gift. It was very thoughtful of you. I woke up very early this morning to open my presents. You know how much I love Christmas! Lily got me a necklace. Oh, Remus got me that book I've been searching for! Isn't that sweet of him? I haven't opened any of my other presents yet because of our family tradition—you know, opening presents together. I bet Lawrence got me something completely useless again. 

Well, I have presents to open and letters to write, so I'll see you back at school, okay? 

Alyssa

P.S. Oh, and try to be happy today. You know nobody likes it when you're sad. 

Melanie folded the letter back up and smiled softly. Alyssa always tried to make her feel better during Christmas. 

Elizabeth stared out the window as Melanie opened Lily's letter. 

__

Dear Melanie, 

This is, without a doubt, the strangest Christmas I have ever had. First Potter invites me to his house. Then I meet his parents, who are some of the nicest people I have ever known. Strange, considering whom they have as a son. 

This morning, Potter and Black woke me up at six o'clock! Can you believe that? Potter's gift turned out to be a pretty nice present after all. Then Black pointed out that Potter and I were standing under mistletoe, which he probably put there in the first place. So Potter kissed me! 

I can't believe he actually did that! Sirius Black is going to pay for this. It's his fault Potter kissed me. Oh, I don't even want to think about that anymore! 

Well, I hope you're having a good Christmas. Send an owl back to me. 

Lily

Melanie smothered a giggle. Lily and James kissing? Very interesting. She was about to sit back down at the table when she heard a sound at the window. 

Elizabeth looked past her daughter. "Oh," she said. "It's another owl." 

Melanie opened the window to let the owl in. The owl was carrying a package and two letters. Melanie removed its burden and stroked its head. The owl hooted appreciatively and flew out the window. 

"Who is it from?" Elizabeth asked. 

Melanie looked at the names on the outside of the envelopes. "James Potter and Sirius Black." She inspected the package. "This is from Sirius," she said. 

"Is that the same boy you wrote to me about?" 

"Yeah."

Elizabeth smiled and nodded knowingly. 

*** 

Meanwhile, at the Potter mansion, Sirius Black was still opening presents. Everyone else had finished a while ago. Of course, none of them had gotten presents from twenty-seven girls from Hogwarts. 

James sat next to his friend, looking bored. "Just how many Zonko's products have you received?"

Sirius looked at the growing pile next to him. "Fifteen."

"And how many of those are from girls?" 

"Fifteen."

James ruffled his hair. "Can't they think of anything more original? I thought girls were good at shopping."

Sirius started opening another present. "Maybe I'm just too mysterious. None of these girls seems to know the right thing to give me."

James watched as Sirius pulled out yet another Zonko's product from a box. "I think I'll go write to Moony and Wormtail," he said. "This is getting boring." He went upstairs. 

Sirius was now alone in the living room. James's parents had left after he opened his ninth unoriginal present. He opened three more presents. Then he came across a box wrapped in silver gift-wrap. He read the card. 

I hope you like this present. I made it myself. Thanks again for helping me with Transfiguration. I really appreciate it. 

Melanie Daniels 

Sirius ripped the paper off the box. He reached inside and pulled out a square object that resembled a mirror. When he looked into it, however, he saw a night sky. The mirror focused on one particular constellation—Canis Major. He watched as the stars shifted to form the shape of a dog. The dog ran around the sky for a moment, then returned to its original position. 

Sirius smiled. Melanie was indeed learning from their Transfiguration tutoring sessions. 

*** 

Melanie placed Sirius's present on the counter and looked at it. As it turns out, the package contained a small white figurine in the shape of an angel. The accompanying note explained that the angel sang Christmas carols on request.

As Melanie stared at the beautiful figurine, she remembered what happened on Christmas Eve eight years before. 

*~* 

"Daddy, do you have to go?" an eight-year-old Melanie asked, tugging on her father's sleeve as he opened the front door. 

Richard Daniels crouched down to her eye level. "I'll be back soon, angel."

"Promise?"

"I promise," Richard said solemnly. 

Melanie was not satisfied. "You'll be back for Christmas, right?"

"Yes." Richard smiled. "Now be good. You're my little angel, remember?"

Elizabeth, who had been watching the exchange from the hall, came forward and hugged her husband. "Hurry back."

"I will." 

And with that, Richard left. It was the last time Melanie ever saw him alive. 

~*~

When Melanie came out of her reverie, she discovered that she was gripping the edge of the counter so hard that her bones were beginning to hurt. 

Elizabeth looked on in concern. "Melanie? Are you all right?"

The young witch grabbed her present and fled to the safety of her room. 

*** 

Remus read James's letter in amusement. So Sirius _did _put the mistletoe up, just like he had said he would. Sirius always had the guts to do things like that. Although Remus did find such antics amusing, he never could manage to be as bold as James and Sirius were. 

But maybe that was okay. Boldness wasn't always a good thing. 

In any case, Remus didn't think Alyssa would like it too much if he changed his personality to match his friends'. But why would Alyssa's opinion matter? All right, so he liked her. Was that a crime? 

"Remus?" Calista Lupin called, poking her head into her son's room.

"Yes, Mum?" 

"A letter came for you. It's from Sirius Black." She handed him the piece of parchment, then sat next to him on the edge of the bed. She gave Remus a hug. "You know I love you, right?"

Remus returned the embrace. "Yeah, Mum, I know."

"Merry Christmas," Calista said with a smile. She made her exit. 

Remus smiled to himself. He realized that he was still holding the letter. Ah, yes. Sirius's version of events would most certainly be interesting to read. 

*** 

Danielle Phillips did not want to be at home. Her parents had invited relatives over for Christmas. Among these relatives were Danielle's twin cousins, Persephone and Theseus. They had been bothering Danielle for two days now, always asking questions. 

"Dani, what's that?"

"Dani, do you have a boyfriend?"

"Dani, what are you doing?"

"Dani, will you play with me?"

Frankly, she was sick of it. At the moment, Danielle was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling in boredom. She sighed. Kendall had gone with his parents on a trip to America, so Danielle hadn't been in contact with him for days. 

Persephone and Theseus ran into the room. "Dani, an owl came for you!" they exclaimed simultaneously. 

Persephone held out the parchment.

Danielle sat up and took it from her. She was about to open it when she noticed that her cousins were still in the room, staring at her. "Would you two please leave?"

"Come on, Sephie," Theseus said. "Mummy said she was going to give us cake."

The twins left the room. 

Danielle read the letter. It was from Victoria, who wanted to know if Danielle could visit the next day. 

Needless to say, Danielle was thrilled. She just _had_ to get away from her relatives. She silently thanked her best friend as she got out a piece of parchment to write a reply on. 

*** 

Lily was in her room, taking a nap. The boys really had woken her up much too early, and she was tired. As she slept, she dreamed. 

James was in his room when he heard the scream. He jumped, then ran out into the hall. He heard another scream coming from Lily's room. "Evans!" he said, rushing into her room. 

Lily was thrashing about on the bed with her eyes closed, evidently still dreaming. 

"Evans, wake up!" 

Lily's eyes shot open. She gasped for air. "Voldemort," she said. "My parents—they were being—"

James tried to calm her down. "Evans, it was just a dream."

Lily's eyes were blazing. "I'll destroy him for what he did to my parents," she said fiercely. "I _will_."

Disconcerted, James simply said, "Dinner should be ready soon."

Lily nodded. 

TO BE CONTINUED… 

Author's Note: Hmm… A little short, wasn't it? Sorry about that… Review if you want me to be inspired and write the next chapter quickly!


	13. Huh?

Author's Note: Oh, I am so sorry that I haven't updated… I intended to have this chapter written and uploaded a long time ago, but I got sidetracked by another fic… Hope you enjoy!

Title: Partners in Love

Rating: PG

Spoilers: As always, _Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire_, but just a little bit. 

Summary: In Transfiguration class, Lily gets paired with James for the whole year and, well, you can guess what happens…

Disclaimer: Nope! Not me! I don't own anything except for… the non-famous stuff.

Setting: This story is set in Lily and James's days at Hogwarts. It starts out in 5th year. 

*** = setting change

_italics_ = emphasis

~Huh?~

"I do _not_!" a red-faced Lily exclaimed. "How many times do I have to say it before you get the message?"

Alyssa entered the castle with her friends, laughing. The reason she was laughing was because Lily had been stubbornly denying that she had any romantic interest in James for the past two hours. It was funny, really. It was obvious that she liked James. Why else would she have been unable to stop talking about him, even if she had been complaining? 

"Ladies, what seems to be so funny?" 

Alyssa and the other girls turned their attention to Sirius, who was standing a few feet away with the most charming smile on his face. Alyssa glanced at Remus, who rolled his eyes, sighed, then smiled apologetically at the girls. 

James, who was standing next to his best friend, said, "You wouldn't be laughing about us, now would you?" 

"Of course not," Victoria said, trying to suppress her giggles. 

Remus looked suspicious but decided not to pursue the topic. "So how did you all enjoy the holidays?" he asked. 

Victoria gave a small cough and elbowed Danielle. Danielle glared at her best friend and said quickly, "It was fine."

Peter opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the passing of a Slytherin sixth year. Severus Snape, to be exact. Snape glared hatefully at the Gryffindors, especially Lily, then continued on his way. 

"I trust you had a wonderful holiday!" Sirius called after him. Then, more quietly, he muttered, "You slimy git."

"Oh, Remus," Alyssa said, "I wanted to thank you for your gift." 

At this, Remus, who had taken it upon himself to begin a staring contest with the floor, looked up. "It was nothing," he said quietly, "but you're welcome."

"Evans," James said loudly, "are you thinking about something, or are you just fascinated with my head?"

Lily had been boring a hole into James's skull with her eyes. "I was only staring at your head because I was curious as to how you get through doorways, considering how fat it is."

"Speaking of fat—"

"Prongs!" Sirius interrupted, saving James from a potentially nasty situation. "Let's go, we have lots to do."

The Marauders turned to leave.

Melanie, who had not said a word since she entered the castle, called out, "Thank you for the present, Sirius! It was really nice."

Sirius glanced back at her and grinned. 

Kendall came up behind Danielle. "Hi," he said. 

Danielle jumped and turned around. "Kendall! Jeez, you scared me!" She hit him lightly on the shoulder. 

Kendall just smiled. "Sorry about the wait. Patrick needed a bit of help getting to the hospital wing. He really shouldn't duel, he's hopeless at it." 

"Who was he dueling?" Victoria asked out of curiosity. 

"His sister." Kendall shook his head. "The worst part is, he lost, and she's only a second year."

*** 

Alyssa watched Sirius and Melanie carefully during their first Transfiguration lesson of the new term. If Sirius didn't ask out Melanie in two weeks, Alyssa was out thirty Galleons, which was quite a lot of money. 

Alyssa glanced at Danielle. Danielle had been blissfully happy lately. She had reason to, Alyssa supposed. She was with the boy of her dreams, and it looked like she was going to win the bet too. 

In front of Alyssa, Lily was trying to stop James from transfiguring everything on the desk. Professor McGonagall had just been called out of class to attend to a third year Slytherin who had been transfigured into something extremely nasty (courtesy of the Marauders).

"Potter!" 

"Yes, darling?" James said, grinning cheekily. He transfigured her book into a shoe.

Lily picked up the shoe and whacked James with it. "Stop it!"

James caught a glimpse of something red-orange. He paused and looked at Lily. "You're wearing it," he said, realizing that the bright red-orange glow had been emitted by the locket he had given her for Christmas.

Lily stiffened. "So?"

"Well, I didn't think you would…"

"You gave it to me. Didn't you expect me to wear it?"

"Uh, yeah. I just—" He was cut off by an exclamation from Professor McGonagall, who had just reentered the room.

"Mr. Black!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed. "I leave the classroom for one minute, and you manage to cause complete chaos!" 

Sirius and Peter were in the front of the room, transfiguring and charming random objects to fly around the classroom.

"Detention! You too, Mr. Pettigrew!" The stern-looking witch noticed the wide assortment of objects on Lily and James's desk. "Mr. Potter, did you do this?"

"Yes, Professor."

McGonagall sighed. "No detention this time, but in the future, please refrain from transfiguring Miss Evans's belongings."

*** 

Sirius was sitting in the common room with Melanie. He had finished his homework a few minutes ago and was seriously considering interrupting Lily and James's rather heated debate. He was about to get out of his seat when he noticed something. Melanie, who was still working diligently, was humming.

Sirius listened more closely. It was a little hard to hear, considering the fact that Lily and James were arguing rather loudly. At least they weren't yelling at each other with as much animosity as they used to.

Melanie paused and lifted her quill from the parchment, pondering what she had just written. 

"Melanie?" Sirius called. 

The girl abruptly stopped humming. "Yes?"

"What were you humming?" 

Melanie seemed surprised. "I was humming?"

Sirius nodded. "Do you sing?"

"No," Melanie said shortly. "I used to, but that was a long time ago."

"That's too bad," Sirius said, leaning forward. "I bet you have a great singing voice."

Melanie was suddenly very conscious of the fact that Sirius Black was not that far away from her. "I should get back to work," she said uncomfortably. 

"Sorry for bothering you," Sirius said, standing up. He went over to talk to Remus and Alyssa. 

Melanie sighed. She hadn't meant to be rude. She just didn't like talking about singing. Now that Sirius had brought up the topic, Melanie was overcome by a rush of emotions. She shouldn't blame Sirius. After all, he didn't know that she had loved singing as a child. He didn't know why she didn't sing anymore.

*** 

A few days later, Sirius entered the sixth year boys' dorm. "Prongs, I've decided. I'm going to ask Melanie to be my girlfriend." 

"Really?"

"Yes." 

"What if she says no?" James asked. He saw the look on Sirius's face and then said, "Oh, right. No girl can say no to you." 

"Hey, since I'm going to ask out Melanie, why don't you ask out Lily?" Sirius teased.

James shouted (a bit too loudly), "And why would I want to do that?!"

Sirius left with a grin on his face.  

*** 

Melanie sat at a table in the common room, finishing her Astronomy homework. Sirius came downstairs and approached her. 

"Melanie?" said Sirius. 

"Yes?" Melanie replied, looking up from her homework. 

Sirius swept his long, dark hair out of his eyes. "Well, I was wondering… Will you go out with me?" 

Melanie closed her book. "No," she said quietly. 

"What?" asked Sirius in disbelief. 

"No, Sirius, I won't go out with you." Melanie was carefully avoiding his eyes. 

"But—but—why?" Sirius asked, rather confused. 

She closed her eyes briefly and took a breath. "I don't want to get hurt, Sirius. I've seen the girls you date for a week or two and then toss aside. I don't want to be one of those girls." Gathering her books, parchment, and various belongings, she continued, "So, I—I think we'd be better off as friends." 

Sirius's face fell. "Oh," was all he could say. 

Melanie rushed up the stairs, sparing Sirius a quick glance as she left. 

*** 

Melanie closed the door to the dormitory she shared with the other sixth year girls and leaned against it heavily, holding her books to her chest. 

"Melanie?" asked Lily, standing up. "What's wrong?" 

"Sirius," the blonde whispered. 

Alyssa, Danielle, and Victoria shared a look. "Bet's off," Alyssa said under her breath. The other two girls nodded. Melanie was clearly upset about Sirius. They couldn't bet on something that upset her. 

Meanwhile, Melanie had taken to breathing hard and staring at something invisible in the air. Lily caught Melanie's books as they slid from Melanie's arms. She put them on the floor. 

"Mel?" Alyssa's voice was tinged with worry. 

"I hurt him, I hurt him, I hurt him!" Melanie wailed in a voice that was decidedly un-Melanie-like. She looked to be on the verge of tears. 

Victoria conjured up a handkerchief and handed it to Melanie, who continued rambling. 

"How could I do that to him? He was so nice and sweet and—"

Lily looked concernedly at her best friend's face as Danielle asked, "What happened?" 

Alyssa led Melanie to her bed and said, "Breathe, Melanie, breathe." 

The blonde sat and obeyed her friend's instructions. 

"What happened?" repeated Danielle. 

"He—Sirius—asked me to go out with him and I said no," Melanie said miserably. 

"What?" Lily asked, shocked. 

"Why did you say no?" asked Danielle, impatiently pushing her auburn hair out of her face. 

"Because I don't want to be you, Danielle," explained Melanie, still speaking in that horrible sorrowful voice. "I don't want him to break my heart." 

Victoria bit her lip, thinking. No one noticed as she slipped out of the room and went downstairs. 

"You should have seen his face," Melanie said sadly. "How could I have done that to him?" 

*** 

James watched as his best friend quietly entered the dormitory and lay down on his bed. He thought it was a bit strange that Sirius didn't talk to him, but he had more pressing matters to attend to. He went to the bathroom. When he returned a few minutes later, Sirius was still staring at the ceiling exactly as he had when he had come in. 

Kendall was standing in the room. He shrugged helplessly at James. 

"I tried talking to him, but he didn't answer," he said. 

"Oh," replied James. "I'll find out what's wrong." 

"Okay," answered Kendall. "I'm going to the library. See you." He left. 

James stood by Sirius's bed, looking down at his silent friend. "Padfoot, you all right, mate?" 

Sirius didn't answer. James sighed. Suddenly the door opened and a girl walked in. 

"Arlington!" yelped James in surprise. "What are you doing in here?" 

"I need to talk to Sirius," Victoria declared. Her straight black hair swished as she walked toward a listless Sirius Black. She wasn't smiling. "You asked Melanie to go out with you," she said flatly.

James blinked. 

Victoria continued, "And she said no." 

"I know, Victoria," Sirius said softly. "Why are you telling me this?" 

"You like her a lot, don't you?" 

"More than all the girls I've ever gone out with combined," Sirius told her in a whisper. 

James was in shock. How had this girl gotten Sirius to open up so quickly?

"Two years ago, you went out with Danielle Phillips." 

"Right." 

"And you were with her for almost a month." 

"We got along well." 

Victoria settled her cool blue gaze on Sirius's handsome face. "She was happy that the relationship lasted quite long, compared to your other ones. And then you dropped her. Dani was depressed for a while after that. She cried for days. But you didn't seem to care. In fact, you asked out Delia Hotchkins the next day. Do you realize how much pain you put girls through? Every one of them hopes she will be the one you commit yourself to. But every time, you walk away and find someone else." 

"I'm sorry." 

"Melanie doesn't want to be one of those girls." 

Sirius looked at her. "So what do I do?" 

Victoria answered, "Stop playing with people's emotions. Because until you can prove that you can be a good relationship partner, you will have no chance with Melanie Daniels." 

Voices could be heard coming from the staircase. 

"No, Peter."

"But Remus, what about—?" 

Peter and Remus had just entered the room. They stopped their conversation when they noticed that a girl was standing in their dormitory. 

"Victoria?" Remus asked, puzzled. 

"Hello, Remus. I was just talking to Sirius." Victoria turned back to the dark-haired boy. "I don't want Melanie to get hurt like Danielle did. You prove to her that you can handle a long relationship and maybe then you'll have a chance."

Sirius stared curiously at Victoria. 

TO BE CONTINUED… 

Author's Note: Well. That was sad. Definite L/J in the next chapter. If there isn't, you can throw shoes at me.


	14. You What?

Author's Note: Okay, um… The first part of this is not J/L, but by the end of the chapter, it will be.

Title: Partners in Love

Rating: PG

Spoilers: As always, _Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire_, but just a little bit. 

Summary: In Transfiguration class, Lily gets paired with James for the whole year and, well, you can guess what happens…

Disclaimer: Nope! Not me! I don't own anything except for… the non-famous stuff.

Setting: This story is set in Lily and James's days at Hogwarts. It starts out in 5th year. 

*** = setting change

__

italics = emphasis

__

italics = thoughts

~You What?~

Sirius was walking through the corridors alone, which was very unusual. James was at Quidditch practice, Peter was in detention, and Remus was preparing to go to the Shrieking Shack. Sirius felt very alone. He didn't even have a girl to keep him company. He hadn't been very interested in going out with anyone ever since Melanie had rejected him a few days ago. 

He turned a corner and found himself face-to-face with Severus Snape. 

"Lost your way, Black?" Snape sneered. 

Sirius reached inside his robes for his wand. "No, Snivellus," he said coldly. 

Snape's expression turned even more unpleasant. "Well, in case you haven't noticed, Gryffindor Tower is on the other side of the castle." 

Sirius looked around. He was indeed in a part of the castle that he rarely frequented. He glared at the Slytherin boy in front of him. "Who says I was looking for Gryffindor Tower? Maybe I was searching for you so I could make your ugly face even uglier." 

Before Sirius could say another word, Snape pointed his wand at him and muttered something under his breath. Sirius found himself being pressed against the wall by invisible hands. 

"Lupin's going away again, isn't he?" Snape asked. "Tell me where he's going."

"Never." The pressure on Sirius's chest increased. He was starting to have trouble breathing. 

"Tell me!" 

Suddenly, Sirius had an idea. "Okay! I'll tell you! Just let me down."

Snape replied, "Tell me and I'll let you down."

"He's—he's going to the abandoned shack in Hogsmeade."

"Why?" Snape asked, lessening the pressure. 

Sirius said, "You'll just have to find that out for yourself, won't you?" 

Snape pulled his wand back. He ran off before Sirius could catch his breath. 

Sirius smiled. Snape had no idea what he was getting into. 

***

"I'm bored," James said, twirling his wand. "We still have a few hours to go before we can go see Moony." 

"What should we do?" asked Peter. 

James shrugged. "Want to go torture Snivellus?"

Sirius sniggered. "You won't be able to find him."

"What do you mean?" Peter inquired. 

"I told him to go to the Shrieking Shack tonight," Sirius said. "Just wait till he meets Moony completely transformed!" 

"You what?!" James exploded. "Padfoot, you fool! Do you realize what you've just done?" He ran out of the room before Sirius could say anything else. 

*** 

"Sniv—Snape!"

Severus Snape heard his name being called, but he ignored it. He was rather excited about finding out Remus Lupin's secret and finally getting revenge for all the times the Marauders had tortured him. 

"Snape, come back!"

He was almost there—he couldn't turn back now. He continued to ignore the urgent voice echoing through the tunnel. 

James ran as fast as he could. He wasn't Snape's biggest fan, but he couldn't let Snape face a werewolf by himself. "Snape!" He ran, yelling for the Slytherin to turn back. After the longest minutes of his life, James finally caught up to Snape. He put a hand on the other boy's shoulder. "Snape, don't. It's too dangerous!"

"Let go of me, Potter," Snape snarled. 

James said, "I can't let you go any farther."

Snape pulled away from James and kept walking. 

"Stop!" the Gryffindor boy said desperately. 

He was there. Snape poked his head into the Shrieking Shack and looked around gleefully. Lupin would be there—Snape would see him—Lupin would be doing something wrong—Snape would get Lupin expelled—

Snape heard a growl. He looked to his right and there it was—a full-grown werewolf. He froze. 

An arm roughly pulled him back into the tunnel. 

*** 

Sirius was sitting in the boys' dormitory, nervously awaiting Remus's return. James and Peter were in the room as well. All of them were quiet. Kendall came in, said a quick greeting, noticed that the boys were eerily quiet, grabbed his bag, and went downstairs to meet Danielle.

Seven minutes later, the door opened again. In came a very haggard-looking Remus Lupin. Remus seated himself on his bed. 

"Moony—" Sirius began. 

Remus's gaze met Sirius's. Remus didn't say a word. 

"Moony, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking," Sirius blurted out. "Now he knows your secret. It's all my fault."

Remus continued to stare at Sirius as he said, "Thank you, James."

James nodded solemnly. "I know you wouldn't have wanted to hurt him, even though he's a slimy git who would have told everyone if Professor Dumbledore hadn't told him not to." Seeing Sirius on the floor in front of Remus, hanging his head in shame, James added, "Moony, Padfoot didn't mean anything by it. He just got a little out of control, that's all."

Silence came over the room. Peter broke it by saying, "At least no one else knows, right?"

"Are you angry, Remus?" asked Sirius timidly. 

"No, Sirius," Remus said, sighing. "I'm just tired. Very tired."

*** 

"Vicky, how do you know when you're in love?"

Victoria had been putting her shoes on. Now she looked up at Danielle. "What?" 

"How do you know when you're in love?" Danielle asked again. 

"I don't know," Victoria answered. "Why do you ask?" 

"No reason." Danielle smiled, then went down to the common room. 

Victoria turned around and asked the other girls, "What do you think that was about?" 

Alyssa replied thoughtfully, "I think Kendall means more to her than we thought." 

Lily was looking at the locket James had given her. She still hadn't been able to get it open. "She should be careful," she said, her gaze meeting the others'. "Kendall might not feel the same way." 

"Or maybe he does," Melanie said quietly, "and he just can't tell her." 

*** 

James was in detention, cleaning the floor of the Potions classroom. It was very boring and disgusting work. He pulled out a small mirror and spoke Sirius's name. 

Sirius, who was cleaning crystal balls in the Divination classroom, took out his own mirror and replied, "Hey, Prongs, how's your detention going?"

James groaned. "My back's all stiff from being in this position," he said. "I don't know how Muggles can clean without magic. It's very painful."

Sirius laughed. "At least I can sit in a chair while I'm doing this."

"Lucky dog."

"That I am."

James sat back on his heels. "Any luck with Melanie yet?" 

"No," Sirius answered. "I've been trying to figure out what Victoria meant. How can I show Melanie that I won't dump her? If I do it by example, that means I'd have to stay in a relationship with another girl. But that would be stupid, because then I'd have to break up with her to be with Melanie, making Mel think that I haven't changed my ways."

"That _is_ a dilemma," James said. 

"How about you, Prongs? You haven't dated anyone since fourth year." 

"So?" 

"Well, I just think that maybe you should consider getting back in the game," Sirius said. "I think Lily Evans might be interested."

"Oh, please. Like she'd ever go out with me." 

"You never know until you try, James."

"I don't like her." 

"You're friends now, aren't you?" 

James ran a hand through his hair. "Not exactly." 

Sirius shook his head. "Tell me you didn't like kissing her on Christmas."

James tried, but he couldn't. 

"I knew it," Sirius said gleefully. 

"Shut up." 

*** 

Remus sat with his friends in the Great Hall, eating breakfast. He felt very odd, like he was being watched. He quickly glanced around, trying to see if anyone was looking at him. 

"What's wrong, Moony?" Peter inquired. 

"I feel like someone's watching me," Remus said uneasily. 

James looked over at the Slytherin table. "That someone would be Snivellus Snape." He shook his head. "Honestly, why can't he be obsessed with girls like normal people?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Prongs, if we were normal, we wouldn't be here." 

Remus had lost his appetite. "I'll see you later, okay? I don't feel like eating anymore." He got up and bumped right into Alyssa and Lily, who had also gotten up to leave. "Sorry," he said, stepping aside and continuing on his way.

"Remus, wait," Alyssa said, causing him to turn around. "Are we working on our Transfiguration project tonight?" 

"Er—sure." Remus glanced at the Slytherin table, then hurriedly left the Great Hall. 

*** 

After another homework session with Lily, James went straight to the sixth year boys' dormitory and flopped onto Sirius's bed. Sirius, who came in right after James, said to Remus and Peter in a mock whisper, "I think he's tired." 

With his eyes on the ceiling, James said, "Lily Evans is evil." 

"What do you mean?" Peter asked. 

"She just is," James replied.

Sirius smirked. "You're just in denial." 

"What?" 

Sirius said, "Hmm… Let's see. You can't stop thinking about her. You can't stop _talking _about her. You spent a ton of money on her Christmas present—"

"Don't tell her how much it cost," James interjected. "She'd never keep it if she knew." 

"You have been trying to get on better terms with her lately, you think she's pretty, and the list goes on. You like her." 

"That's not true." James sat up. "Moony, what do you think?" 

Remus answered, "I think you are madly in love with Lily Evans."

"What?!" 

"I'd have to agree with Moony," Peter said. 

James groaned. "Why does everyone think that?" 

"I don't know, Prongs," Sirius said. "Maybe because it's true?" 

James threw a pillow at him. "I am not, I repeat, _not _in love with Lily Evans."

Sirius grinned. "If you don't fancy Lily, my name isn't Sirius Black." 

"What should we call you then?" James retorted. "Snuffles?"

"Seriously, James," Remus said, "how do you feel about her?" 

"Well," James said slowly, "I think you're right." He meant it. He always denied it on reflex—especially when Sirius was the one accusing him—but he did find himself strangely attracted to Lily. When he really thought about it, he found that he was willing to overlook Lily's not-so-desirable qualities if it meant being able to talk to her on a personal level.

"Told you," Sirius said, sticking his tongue out at James, who punched him lightly on the shoulder.

*** 

James entered the Transfiguration classroom the next morning in a strangely happy mood. He was rather relieved that he had finally figured out how he felt about Lily. He seated himself and greeted his partner politely. 

Lily found James's behavior rather odd and stared at him curiously throughout the lesson. Because James was not being the jerk he usually was, Lily did not feel the need to yell at him. Strange. She usually needed to do it at least once a day. 

After class, she and the other girls walked to Potions, discussing James's overnight change. 

"I think he's changed to impress you," Danielle said, trying to hide a smile. 

Lily scoffed. "Danielle, the day James Potter changes for the better is the day that I go out with him." 

Melanie said, "Then there's a very good chance that you'll be going on a date with him soon." 

Lily made a face. "No way." 

The girls all sighed or made a similar noise. It was official—Lily was the queen of denial.

*** 

James approached Alyssa after Charms class, their last class of the day. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" 

"Sure," Alyssa replied, glancing at Lily before walking over to James. "How can I help you?" 

James ran a hand through his hair. "I—uh—do you think Lily would mind if I—"

Alyssa stared at him in suspense. 

"—asked her out?" 

Alyssa's eyes widened. "So you _do_ like her!" she exclaimed. "I knew it!" 

"Shh!" James said frantically, dragging her into an empty classroom. "Well?"

Alyssa smiled. "Oh, she'll mind. As to whether or not she'll say yes, I simply don't know."

James looked worried. "So should I ask her?" 

"Go for it," Alyssa said. "Just—don't be too disappointed if she doesn't accept," she advised, remembering Melanie's situation. 

James nodded. 

*** 

Lily was in a bad mood. She kept seeing and hearing James everywhere. It was getting on her nerves. 

She shook her head as she walked, trying to clear her mind. Because of this, she didn't see Lawrence Parker walking in the opposite direction. She bumped into him, causing both of them to drop their books. 

"Sorry," Lawrence said in a preoccupied manner. 

"Lawrence?" 

"Hmm?" Lawrence looked at Lily and finally seemed to see her. "Oh. Lily. Hi." 

"What's the matter with you?" Lily asked. 

"Nothing," Lawrence replied. "Uh—have you seen Victoria? I was going to ask her something." 

Lily thought for a moment. "She's either in the library or the common room."

"Oh, well, thanks." Lawrence walked off. 

Lily turned a corner and nearly walked right into a group of Hufflepuffs. 

"Great, just great," she muttered under her breath as she veered around them. "Potter can't just annoy me when he's actually there. Now he's doing it without even being anywhere near me!"

Although, she had to admit, he did have a sweet side. He wasn't all bad, considering the fact that he had invited her to his house when she had nowhere else to go. And that smile of his… 

Lily snapped herself out of her mind's wanderings. Had she just been thinking about James Potter in a good light?

*** 

It had been a week since James had asked Alyssa's advice, and as of yet, he had not asked Lily to be his girlfriend. 

He was sitting with the other Marauders, drumming his fingers on the table and annoying his friends. 

Finally, Remus exclaimed, "James, stop it before I curse you into oblivion!" 

James stopped immediately, his eyes wide. "Er—sorry, Moony." 

Alyssa came over to the table then, standing behind Sirius's chair. "Is everything all right? I heard a yell." 

"Everything's fine," Remus replied. "James just seems to think that we enjoy listening to the sound of his fingers tapping." 

"I said I was sorry!" James said defensively. "I didn't even know I was doing it."

"Yes, well, you don't know a lot of things, do you?" 

James stuck his tongue out at Remus. 

Remus did not respond to this juvenile action. Instead, he went to join Alyssa, Danielle, and Kendall at their table.

As soon as he left, James stood up and said, "I have Quidditch practice! I forgot!" He ran up the spiral staircase to get his things. 

Sirius shook his head and smiled slightly. Peter excused himself to go to detention, leaving Sirius to his thoughts.

Melanie was sitting with Victoria, talking about something—he couldn't quite hear what—and smiling. 

Sirius sighed softly and rested his chin on his hand. What could he possibly do to convince her to go out with him? He wasn't quite sure why he was interested in her. Maybe it was because of her eyes. Sirius thought Melanie had sad eyes. Something bad had happened to Melanie, and she hadn't let go of it yet. 

*** 

While Sirius wasn't looking, Lily came into the common room, her arms full of books from the library. She plopped down next to Melanie on a sofa. 

"Hi, Lily," Melanie greeted her. 

Victoria asked, "Why do you have so many books?" 

"I wanted to do research for all my classes at once," Lily replied. "My partner won't be helping me because he has Quidditch practice, which means that I can complete my work in peace for once." 

Victoria tilted her head. "Lily, how did you remember that James had practice? Even _he_ forgot." 

"Yeah," Melanie agreed. "He ran upstairs in a hurry a few minutes ago because he just remembered."

"Well, it was important to him, so I—" Lily said. 

"Since when have you cared whether something was important to James Potter?" Victoria asked, giving her a questioning look. 

"Vicky, we've been through this. James is not Kendall, and I am not Danielle." Lily opened up one of her books and started reading. 

***

Meanwhile, Kendall and Danielle were working on their Transfiguration project together, much to the amusement of Alyssa and Remus. 

"No, Dani, it's like this," Kendall said, demonstrating with his wand. 

"Like this?" Danielle asked, attempting to mimic the action. 

"Not quite." Kendall put his hand over hers, trying to help her perform the right wand motion. 

Danielle said, "I think I have it." She waved her wand at the fork on the table and managed to turn it halfway into a frog. 

Alyssa put her hand over her mouth, smothering a giggle. Remus held back a smile. 

Danielle sighed. "I am never going to get this right." She looked around, spotting James coming down the staircase. "Let me ask James how to do this." 

"Wait," Alyssa said, putting a restraining hand on her friend's shoulder. "I think you should ask someone else." 

"Why?"

Alyssa nodded toward Lily, who was being approached by the dark-haired Quidditch captain. 

"Oh." 

*** 

"Hey," James said, coming to stand in front of Lily. 

Lily didn't even look up. "Hello," she said, turning a page in the large book on her lap. 

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" 

At this, Lily did look up. Puzzled, she got up and followed James to an area away from the other students. 

"What is it?" she asked, wondering why he looked so serious for once. 

James began, "I know we've had our differences in the past…" 

Lily managed a small grin. That was certainly true.

"But I think that we've overcome them." James glanced at Lily's locket. Its color was not indicating anything negative. "I suppose you could say that I've grown rather… _fond _of you lately," he said slowly.

Lily peered at his face, trying to catch any indication of what he might say next. 

James looked down at the floor. "And I hope you've grown to like me as well…" He paused. Was he really going to do this? He lifted his gaze. "I want you to be my girlfriend." 

Lily was so shocked that she couldn't say anything. 

"Look, I have Quidditch practice right now," James said. "Tell me your answer when I get back." He gave Lily a dazzling smile and fondly tweaked her nose. 

Lily watched, openmouthed, as James ran out of the common room. Somehow she found her way to a chair and managed to close her mouth. 

Sirius, who had been watching the whole thing, sat silently in a corner, watching Lily. He observed that she seemed rather stunned. He also thought that she looked as if she were going to say no. That wouldn't be very good for James. _Well, _he thought, _time to do my duty as a best friend. _He got up and moved over to where Lily was sitting. 

"Why, hello there, Miss Evans."

"Sirius, I do not need this right now," Lily said. 

Sirius was unfazed. "So James asked you out, did he?" 

Lily sighed. "I don't know if I should accept."

"Listen," the young wizard said, leaning closer to her, "James Potter is one of the best people I know. I'll admit, he can be a prat sometimes, but he's not really all that bad. You might think he doesn't use his head as much as he ought to, but when he really needs to, he does." Sirius smiled ruefully to himself. If James hadn't used his brain when Snape was about to encounter Remus as a werewolf, the Marauders would all be in very big trouble right now. 

Lily shook her head. "Sirius, I know he's your best friend—"

"And do you know why? Because he's loyal, trustworthy, and loads of fun. I just think you should give him a chance." 

Lily considered this for a moment.

Sirius took her silence to mean that she needed more convincing. He added, "Now I can't say anything for his looks, —that's your department—but—" He never got to finish his statement, however, because Lily was gone. 

*** 

James was enjoying the feel of the air on his face as he flew around the Quidditch field. Practice was over; he just wanted to fly around a bit. He remembered the last time he had flown for fun. That had been the night of the Yule Ball. 

James smiled at the memory. It had been nice flying around with Lily. 

He came in for a landing. He picked up his broom and was headed for the showers when he heard a female voice say, "James?" 

James crossed the field to where a nervous-looking Lily stood. 

He smiled. "Hi, Lily."

"I—uh," Lily said flustered, "yes."

James tilted his head. "What?" 

"Yes, I'll go out with you."

"Really? You mean it?" 

"Yes, before I change my mind," Lily snapped before looking down shyly. 

James couldn't help himself from thinking that she looked adorable when she was nervous. He smiled and put his arms around her. 

Lily returned the embrace, muttering, "What have I gotten myself into?" 

James laughed. 

TO BE CONTINUED… 

Author's Note: Was that worth the wait? I hope I don't get anything chucked at my head…


	15. Really?

Author's Note: James and Lily are together! Yay! Now the crazy relationship adventures begin! Well, all right, not so much in this chapter, but don't worry, they'll appear soon enough. 

Title: Partners in Love

Rating: PG

Spoilers: As always, _Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire_, but just a little bit. 

Summary: In Transfiguration class, Lily gets paired with James for the whole year and, well, you can guess what happens…

Disclaimer: Nope! Not me! I don't own anything except for… the non-famous stuff.

Setting: This story is set in Lily and James's days at Hogwarts. It starts out in 5th year. 

*** = setting change

__

italics = emphasis

~Really?~

Alyssa, Danielle, Victoria, and Melanie were all sitting in the girls' dorm room, having finally finished their homework. Lily had not returned after rushing out of the common room. James was also nowhere to be found, and the other members of the Quidditch team had all come back a while ago. The girls supposed that Lily was with James, but where were they? 

To pass the time, the girls decided to have a session of "girl talk." 

"So," Victoria said, "Alyssa, who was the first boy you ever liked?" 

Alyssa smiled in spite of herself. "William Greene." 

"He was the one in Ravenclaw, wasn't he?" Melanie asked. 

"Yeah. He was clever, but he didn't have much of a personality." 

"It's no use asking me," Danielle spoke up. "You all know who the first boy I ever liked was." 

"Sirius Black," the three girls echoed. 

Victoria, who had been in a reclining position, sat up on her bed. "Very charming, that one." 

"I think," Danielle mused, "it was his smile that drew me to him. Or maybe it was just the fact that I thought he was gorgeous. He certainly doesn't lack in the looks department." 

"Maybe a bit in the sanity one, though," Victoria said, laughing. 

"Mel, you haven't said anything," remarked Alyssa, looking at her friend. "Are we making you uncomfortable?" 

"No," Melanie said, shaking her blond head. "I was just thinking of the time that Sirius—" 

Lily chose that time to open the door. She walked into the room and sat on her bed, smiling. 

Needless to say, her friends found this behavior strange. 

"Maybe she killed him," whispered Victoria, "and she's really happy about it." 

"I heard that, Vicky," Lily said. "And no, I did not kill Potter—er, James."

Danielle raised an eyebrow. "So it's 'James' now, is it?" 

"Is there something wrong with that?" Lily said defensively. 

"Lily, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that," Alyssa said soothingly. "So what happened?" 

"James asked me to be his girlfriend, and I said yes." 

"What?" Danielle exclaimed. "How did that happen?"

Lily smiled. "Believe it or not, it was Sirius Black who convinced me." Receiving several blank looks, she continued, "I wasn't sure if I wanted to be with James, but Sirius took me aside and helped me figure out my feelings for the idiot, and, well…"

Melanie looked surprised. "Sirius did that?" 

Lily nodded. "Anyway, I realized that Pot—James—isn't _completely _bad."

Alyssa chuckled. "Lily, just last week, you said you were going to remove his liver and feed it to Filch's cat." 

"Well, I changed my mind," Lily said huffily. 

***

Sirius, Remus, Peter, and Kendall watched James jump on his bed. 

"He's lost it," remarked Sirius.

"I completely agree," Remus said. 

Kendall said, "Who would have thought she would actually say yes?" 

Peter was starting to get dizzy from watching James's ceaseless bouncing. "When do you expect he'll stop?" 

"Prongs!" Sirius yelled, causing James to stop bouncing and look at him. "As—_entertaining_—as this is to watch, I must insist that you calm down." 

"Have you ever been so happy that you felt like you could fly?" James asked, his face glowing. "Without a broomstick, I mean." 

"What is he babbling about?" Sirius wondered, looking at the others. 

Kendall smiled softly. "I know what he means." 

*** 

Lily moved into a reclining position. "What am I going to tell my—? Oh… that's right. I don't have parents anymore," she said sadly. 

"Lily—"

"No, it's okay. I'm fine. Really." Lily absentmindedly touched her locket, whose swirling colors indicated that she was _not_ fine. "Anyway, what were you all talking about before I came in?" 

"Boys we've fancied," Victoria answered. 

"Did you talk about Adam?" Lily asked Alyssa. 

"No," Alyssa said, "but I did mention William." 

"How about you, Vicky?" Lily asked.

Victoria chuckled. "Before Lawrence, it was Randall Kensington." 

"You liked someone before Lawrence?" Alyssa said in mock surprise. 

"Oh, be quiet." 

Danielle looked curiously at Melanie. "Mel? Would you like to share?" 

"Okay," Melanie said uncertainly. "I think I… began having feelings for Sirius the night when—when he took me stargazing." 

"When was that?" Lily asked. She looked at the other girls, then back to Melanie. "You never told us he did that." 

Melanie looked down at her hands. "I didn't want to tell anyone. It was something that I wanted to keep to myself... Anyway, I felt… comfortable with him. I never felt like that around other boys," she said. "And then, at the Yule Ball, he was so nice to me…" She sighed. "But I didn't want him to ask me to go out with him. It would have been better if he had just kept going out with other girls and left me alone to get over him." 

Danielle asked, "You wouldn't want to even give it a chance? Just to see if it works out?" 

"No," the blonde said simply. "I don't know why I was put in Gryffindor. I'm not even brave enough to do that." 

*** 

The next morning, Lily came downstairs to find James waiting for her in the common room. 

"Morning," she said politely.

James smiled upon seeing her. "Morning," he replied. 

Lily glanced at Sirius, who was standing near the portrait hole with Remus and Peter. "Er—can I ask you something?" 

"Yes," James said, trying to figure out what she was looking at. 

"Why is Sirius—? Well, what I mean is, why does he—?"

"Treat girls the way he does?" James asked shrewdly. 

Lily nodded. "I'm only asking for Melanie's sake."

James sighed and looked at his best friend. "Sirius always needs a new challenge. That's how he is. He gets bored if he's with the same girl for too long. Look, Sirius isn't a bad person. He just has a very short attention span." 

Lily fervently hoped that James's attention span was not as short as his friend's was. She did not want to have finally admitted her feelings for James just to be tossed aside without a thought. 

*** 

Victoria stood with Alyssa, Danielle, and Melanie, all of whom were watching Lily and James. They were very curious to see how the two would act as a couple. Everything seemed fine. Lily and James were talking to each other without arguing. 

"What are you girls looking at?" a voice from behind Victoria asked. 

The young witches jumped. They turned to see who had voiced the question. 

Alyssa sighed in exasperation when she saw him. "Lawrence! Don't scare us like that!" 

"Lyssa, I wasn't trying to scare anyone. I simply wanted to know what seemed to have you all so fascinated." Lawrence gave his sister a mocking smile. Alyssa stuck her tongue out at him. 

Danielle nodded in the general direction of Lily and James. "Apparently, those crazy Gryffindors have actually decided to get together and make each other even crazier." She looked up as Kendall came near. 

"Well," Lawrence said, "I'm off to join my friends for breakfast." He turned to Victoria. "Remember what we talked about? I'll meet you in the library at six." 

Victoria nodded. Lawrence strolled out of the common room. 

"What are you meeting him for?" Melanie asked. 

"Yes," Alyssa said suspiciously. "What business do you have with my darling brother?" 

"Can't say," Victoria replied. "It's personal business." 

*** 

Sirius sat at the Gryffindor table, glancing at James and Lily every once in a while. He _had _tried to be a supportive friend and put up a large banner announcing their new relationship, but Lily had smacked him with her Potions book and told him to take it down. He thought that was unfair, as he had only been trying to help. 

When he wasn't looking at the new couple, he found his eyes wandering to Melanie. He hadn't had a girlfriend in a while now, not since Melanie had rejected him. Briefly he wondered if she fancied someone else. He didn't think that was the case. The way Victoria had talked about Melanie seemed to suggest that she… 

His thoughts were interrupted by Peter's asking him to pass the butter. Sirius, not having come completely out of his reverie, stared at Peter uncomprehendingly until Remus came to the rescue and handed Peter the butter in question. 

"What's with you, Padfoot?" Remus asked. 

"Nothing. Just…" 

"Ah." Remus looked down the table. "Still haven't figured out what to do about her?" 

Sirius shook his head. "What about you?" 

Remus frowned. "What _about _me?" 

Sirius leaned forward and said quietly, "You and your partner." 

"There is nothing going on between us." 

"Obviously," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "That's the problem." 

"What?" Remus asked, confused. 

"You can be really thick sometimes, you know that?" 

***

Professor McGonagall received a shock that afternoon. Lily Evans and James Potter were actually not at each other's throats for once. 

When the Transfiguration professor mentioned this to the headmaster, Dumbledore merely smiled knowingly. He reassured Minerva, telling her that she was not going mad. James Potter and Lily Evans were simply becoming more mature and able to accept their partnership. 

TO BE CONTINUED… 

Author's Note: Hmm… Hope you like it. Took me a while to write, although it's not as long as I would have hoped… 


	16. Are You Crazy?

Author's Note: Many apologies to people who may have been waiting for this fic to be updated. I got sick (ugh)… Plus, my computer was messed up and they took it to get it fixed, so I couldn't update. I also had finals and many, many homework assignments. Besides that, I got distracted by _Pirates of the Caribbean _fics… But I'm back, and hopefully better than ever. 

Title: Partners in Love

Rating: PG

Spoilers: As always, _Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire_, but just a little bit. 

Summary: In Transfiguration class, Lily gets paired with James for the whole year and, well, you can guess what happens…

Disclaimer: Nope! Not me! I don't own anything except for… the non-famous stuff.

Setting: This story is set in Lily and James's days at Hogwarts. It starts out in 5th year. 

*** = setting change

_italics_ = emphasis

~Are You Crazy?~

"Good morning," James said, sitting down next to Lily at the Gryffindor table. It was a wonderful February morning, and James felt oddly cheerful. 

"Morning," Lily replied. She took a sip of juice before turning to look at her boyfriend. Her eyes widened. "James, your hair is blue!" 

"What?" James said absently. He put a hand to his head. "Oh, that." 

"Yes, that," Lily agreed. 

Across the table, Melanie asked, "What happened?" 

James shrugged. "It feels like Sirius's work," he said casually.

Lily waited. "Well?" 

"Well what?" James asked through a mouthful of eggs. 

"Aren't you going to do something about it?" 

"Why?" 

Lily sighed, exasperated. "Your hair is blue, and you're just fine with it? You're not going to fix it or retaliate or anything?" 

James thought about it for a minute, and then nodded. "Yeah." 

Alyssa, who was on the other side of Lily, gave a small cough that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. "Maybe you should just fix it for him, Lily."

Lily pulled out her wand. "I just might do that." She pointed the wand at James and muttered a spell, but nothing happened. James continued to eat without even looking up. Frustrated, Lily kept trying. 

After about five minutes, Lily was very annoyed, and James's hair was still blue. "There's nothing I can do. It won't change back!" 

"I could have told you that," James said. "Padfoot's very good at this sort of thing."

"Get up." 

"Lily, I'm eating." 

Remus appeared next to Lily. "Good morning, everyone." 

"Hello, Remus," Lily greeted him. She turned back to James. "Up." 

"I can't last the morning without breakfast," James informed her. 

"Remus, would you happen to know where our dear Mr. Black is at the moment?" Lily sighed after Remus shook his head no. "All right, that's it!" she exclaimed, grabbing James's wrist and pulling him away from the table. 

Shocked, James had to walk quickly to keep up with Lily's pace. "Where are we going?"

"We are going to find that friend of yours and make him change your hair back!" 

"I don't really mind the look. I do, however, mind missing breakfa …" James trailed off, having just been on the receiving end of one of Lily's glares. "Er—why are you so upset about this?" 

"I refuse to be seen any longer with a blue-haired boyfriend!" 

As Lily dragged him out of the Great Hall, James hoped that his best friend was ready to withstand the wrath of a very temperamental redhead.

*** 

Back at the table, Alyssa was asking Danielle where Victoria was.

"I don't know," Danielle replied. "When I woke up, she was already gone, and you two were down here." 

"Odd," Kendall said from his place next to her.

Peter, having finally entered the Great Hall, seated himself next to Remus. He had woken up to discover that he had only fifteen minutes left to eat breakfast. He heaped a pile of food on his plate and proceeded to eat very quickly. 

Remus, who had taken Lily's recently vacated position, spoke up, "I saw her with Lawrence a bit earlier." 

"With Lawrence?" Alyssa glanced at Melanie and Danielle. "You don't think—"

Danielle shook her head. "She would have told me." 

"How is everyone this fine morning?" a cheery voice called from behind Danielle. The owner of the voice slid smoothly onto the bench next to Melanie. 

"There you are, Padfoot," Remus said. "Lily and James are out looking for you." 

"Are they?" Sirius asked, unconcerned. "Whatever for?" He took a bite out of an apple. 

Melanie told him, "Lily's outraged about what you did to James's hair." 

"I was only thinking of him," Sirius said. "He was asking me yesterday if he should do something different with his hair, so I helped him out." 

"I don't think Lily appreciated _how _you helped him out," Kendall said. 

Sirius chewed thoughtfully. "Well," he said, swallowing, "she'll just have to get used to it. That's just one of the hazards of going with James Potter."

"Just how many of these 'hazards' are there?" asked a curious Danielle. 

"Oh, I'd say about fifty-seven," Sirius said, laughing a bit. "Come on," he said to the two Marauders who were currently finishing their breakfast. "Let's go find Prongs and his precious flower." 

*** 

Two hours later, James (now with his natural hair color back) was holding his left arm in pain. He had been standing near Remus's cauldron when its contents exploded onto him. He suspected that a Slytherin was behind this unfortunate turn of events. Severus Snape was high on his list of suspects, but James had no evidence to link the greasy young wizard to the incident. He did, however, have an arm that was swelling rapidly and turning blotchy purple. 

"Professor, we need some help over here!" Sirius yelled. 

"Sorry, Prongs. I don't know what I did wrong," Remus said, peering at the board. "I followed all the instructions…" 

James winced. "Don't worry about it. It's not your fault," he said. More loudly, he continued, "Professor, if you don't mind, I'll just take myself to the hospital wing…" 

"No points for today, then, Potter. That goes for you too, Mr. Lupin. You really should learn to be more careful," the professor said nastily. 

James narrowed his eyes and headed for the door. 

"Tsk, tsk, Potter. How very clumsy of you," Snape said as James passed. "It's a wonder you haven't killed yourself yet. Although I wouldn't be opposed to that idea, you really should learn how to handle yourself in a Potions class." 

"At least I know how to bathe," James hissed. "You look like the last thing you took a bath in was this foul potion you're making." 

"_I _am making this potion correctly. I don't know what you call that concoction over there, but it certainly isn't a potion." 

"Pardon me," said a cold, female voice. "If I'm not mistaken, you may have the advantage in Potions, but James has bested you in every other class. And Quidditch as well, I believe." Lily stood in front of Snape, glaring at him with a hardened expression. "So I'd shut your trap if I were you." She turned to James. "Go see Madam Pomfrey. Now." 

James glanced down at his arm. "Right," he answered, alarmed at the state it was in. He rushed out of the classroom. 

Lily crossed the room, returning to her own cauldron. "Honestly," she said, stabbing rather than stirring the brew, "that Snape thinks he knows everything. Insulting James like that. I can't believe him." She continued her muttering as she added the next ingredient to her potion. 

Melanie patted her on the shoulder. "Don't waste your time grumbling about him." 

"I can't help it. He's so—irksome." 

Sirius approached Lily. "Don't worry about Snivellus. We'll take care of him." 

"Oh, no," Lily said, immediately feeling guilty. "I didn't mean that you should hurt him. I just don't like how he—"

"Miss Evans, Mr. Black, is there something you'd like to discuss with the rest of the class?" drawled Professor Brewer. 

"No." 

"Then I suggest you get back to your work. That is, if you wish to pass this course." 

Lily did so, not missing the smug look on Snape's face. 

*** 

Remus found it very odd to see James and Lily working on a Transfiguration assignment without fighting once. He supposed it was better for his eardrums, but it would take some getting used to. "Do you think it'll last?" he asked Alyssa, who was sitting next to him. 

Alyssa glanced up from her essay. "Do I think what will last?" 

Remus nodded toward the couple near the fireplace. "Lily and James." 

Alyssa set down her quill. "It may have taken a while for them to realize their feelings for each other, but I think they'll be together forever. Fights and all." She laughed. "My, aren't I the little romantic? But seriously," she continued. "It'd be nice to have a relationship like that. That's what marriage is for, I suppose—to tell the world that you want to be with one person for eternity." 

Remus nodded silently. 

"It's nice, isn't it? How honest they are with each other. They always have been, I guess," Alyssa mused, "even when what they thought wasn't that nice." 

"James, don't be stupid!" Lily said loudly. 

"You're asking the impossible! Wait a minute. Did I just insult myself?" 

Lily smirked and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. 

"You're a bad influence," James said, glaring darkly at her. "You've got me thinking like you." 

Alyssa giggled. "See?" 

*** 

A week later, the Gryffindor sixth years were eating breakfast when the owls came in with the post. James, Victoria, Remus, Alyssa, and Kendall all received letters. 

James opened his letter with Lily reading over his shoulder. 

_Dear James, _

_Your father and I have just received word that you and Lily Evans are now dating. We simply must have her stay at our house again. She's a lovely girl, and I'm very pleased with your choice. Best of luck to the both of you._

_Love, _

_Your mother_

Lily smacked him. "You didn't tell your parents about us?" 

"I forgot," James explained. 

"You forgot." Lily pulled away from him. "Nice to know how important I am to you," she said sarcastically. 

"Lily, I'm sure he didn't mean it that way," Victoria said, trying to calm down her friend. 

"Don't try to defend him, Vicky." Lily glanced at James. "Don't look at me like that!" she snapped. 

"Like what?" asked James, who knew perfectly well what she meant. 

"Like a lovesick puppy dog who knows he's done something terribly wrong," interjected Sirius from across the table. 

Lily kicked him lightly. "You stay out of this." 

Danielle, Alyssa, Remus, and Peter, who had been having a nice chat, were now looking in Lily's direction, curious as to how the incident would play out. 

"Lily, you _are _important to me. I'm just not very good at writing letters." 

Lily took a bite out of a piece of toast. She showed no sign that she had heard James. 

"I didn't mean to. I'm sorry I forgot to tell my mother about us," said James, looking at her with an expression that he had probably stolen from Sirius. 

Lily sighed. "You don't have to be sorry," she said apologetically. "I didn't mean to react like that." 

Melanie smiled to herself. She was happy that Lily had finally realized her feelings for James. Now Lily had someone who would do his very best to understand her. They would probably have little episodes like this throughout their relationship, but they would be happy together. Melanie wished she could have that. 

James took Lily's hand, and Melanie suddenly wanted a boyfriend. There was just the matter of finding the right boy. She looked at Sirius, who was grinning at a joke he had just made. No, she could be thinking about Sirius Black. Not after she had already rejected him and made a spectacle of herself crying about him. Melanie tried to push the thought aside. 

Lily rolled her eyes at Sirius's joke and said to James, "Sometimes I react before I have a chance to think. Just try not to be offended if I'm too severe with you sometimes." 

James gave her a smile and said, "Me? Offended? No, darling, I never take your oh-so-harsh comments to heart."

Lily laughed. James always had a way of bringing humor into any situation.

Looking away from Lily and James, Danielle asked Kendall, "What did your parents have to say?" She gestured to the letter from Kendall's parents. 

"Nothing important," Kendall said quickly, folding the piece of parchment and putting it in his pocket. "Just another letter. You know." 

Danielle smiled at her boyfriend, not suspecting that anything was wrong. 

TO BE CONTINUED… 

Author's Note: A bit of foreshadowing in this chapter… Hmm. I wonder if I should have said that. I hope you like the James/Lily parts. I had fun writing them. Blue hair… 


	17. Are You Sure?

Author's Note: Wow… glad to see people like the fic… You know, for some reason, I have this weird feeling that Sirius has been channeling Captain Jack Sparrow lately, but that may just be my imagination… By the way, I didn't mean to make you guys go crazy over trying to figure out what was being foreshadowed… There were a few things, some of which may be so subtle that only I understand them… Sorry about that… I think I'll reread my story, just so I know what I've done with it so far… I'm pretty sure I hinted stuff that I haven't gotten to yet…

Title: Partners in Love

Rating: PG

Spoilers: As always, _Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire_, but just a little bit. 

Summary: In Transfiguration class, Lily gets paired with James for the whole year and, well, you can guess what happens…

Disclaimer: Nope! Not me! I don't own anything except for… the non-famous stuff.

Setting: This story is set in Lily and James's days at Hogwarts. It starts out in 5th year. 

*** = setting change

_italics_ = emphasis

~Are You Sure?~

Melanie Daniels had a dilemma. She liked Sirius Black. But she had rejected him once before, causing him and herself a lot of grief, so she had no right to tell him that she had changed her mind. Besides, she wasn't entirely sure she had. She had feelings for Sirius, certainly, but that didn't mean she wanted him as a boyfriend. Sirius had a history of breaking girls' hearts. 

But then again, Sirius hadn't asked out another girl since the day he had asked Melanie. Did that mean anything? And if so, what? 

"Melanie?" Lily's voice broke into Melanie's thoughts. "Is something wrong?" She paused in the middle of putting on her shoes. 

The blonde sighed. "Do you think I made the wrong decision?" 

Lily frowned slightly. "About what?" 

Melanie didn't answer, opting instead to stare at the floor. 

"Oh," Lily said in a sudden flash of insight, "Sirius." She finally got both shoes on her feet and stood up. "Melanie, I know you don't want to get hurt. But it seems to me that by refusing him, you're hurting yourself a lot more than he could hurt you." 

Alyssa came in from the bathroom. "What's going on?" she asked, noticing the lack of gaiety in the room. 

Lily glanced at her. "Mel's reconsidering her decision about Sirius." Addressing Melanie, she said, "I'm your best friend, Melanie. I just want to make sure you're happy. What's the harm in trying, just to see how it turns out?" 

"You sound like Danielle." Melanie allowed a small smile to come to her face, then said worriedly, "But what if he doesn't want me anymore?" 

Alyssa shook her head. "I'm sure Sirius is still interested. He hasn't even _looked _at another girl since you—" 

"That might not mean anything, though," Melanie said. "What if he's… taking a break or something?" 

"Well, it doesn't hurt to ask, now, does it?" 

Melanie continued to look uncertain.

"I never thought I would be in a relationship with James Potter, despite what _some _people said," Lily tossed over her shoulder at Alyssa, who simply grinned. Her tone softened. "But I went with my feelings, and I feel much better than I did before, when I was all conflicted. I believe it's worth the risk of getting hurt if you have a chance for incredible happiness." She pulled back a little. "Look, you obviously can't get your mind off the boy, so why don't you just tell him how you feel?" 

Silence. 

"Mel, you should only do this if you _really _want to be with him." 

"Okay," Melanie replied finally. "I'll talk to him tonight." She opened the door and nearly crashed into Danielle, who had been about to enter. 

"Has anyone seen Kendall?" the young witch asked. "I asked the boys, and they don't know where he is." 

Alyssa shrugged. "None of us have gone downstairs yet." 

Danielle furrowed her brow. "Where could he be?" 

"He'll show up," Lily reassured her. "Where's Victoria?" 

"The Great Hall," Danielle said, her face losing its worried look. "Lawrence Parker has decided to join her for breakfast this morning." She turned to Lily, suddenly remembering something. "Oh, by the way, your boyfriend is currently standing in the common room, looking very much like a lonely puppy," she said. "He's been waiting there since I went down to breakfast." 

Lily's eyes widened as she glanced at her watch. "That was nearly half an hour ago!" She flew past Melanie, rushing down the stairs to meet James. 

Alyssa laughed. "I think Lily needs a little more time to get used to having a boyfriend." 

*** 

Remus let out a sigh of relief when he saw Lily come rushing into the common room from the girls' dormitories. In an act of friendship, the other Marauders had decided to wait in the common room with James, forgoing breakfast. They were now sorely regretting this decision, as James had taken to asking his friends nearly every minute for the past half hour if they thought Lily would be coming down soon, looking extremely forlorn the entire time. 

"Finally," Sirius muttered under his breath. "Does it take the girl this bloody long to get up _every_ morning?" 

Remus overheard this and chuckled. 

"If we're done waiting," Peter said, "I'm going to snag a bit of breakfast before class." He exited through the portrait hole. 

"James, I'm sorry," Lily said. "I was talking to Melanie… I lost track of time." 

"That's okay," James replied, looking much happier now that she was there. 

Three sixth year girls came down the stairs, approaching Sirius and Remus. Melanie immediately pulled Sirius aside. 

"Kendall and I aren't that bad, are we?" Danielle asked, watching Lily and James. 

"You're worse," Alyssa said. She winked at Remus. "Right?" 

"Er—yeah."

Danielle did not look convinced. "Uh-huh." 

Alyssa glanced at her watch. "Well, since it doesn't look like we have enough time to eat," she said, "Remus, would you mind walking us to Transfiguration?" 

"Not at all," Remus replied. A smile formed on his lips without him even realizing it. 

***

Sitting down at the desk she shared with James, Lily asked, "Why did you bother waiting for me, anyway?" 

James shrugged. "I didn't feel right leaving without you." 

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Even though you missed breakfast?" she asked shrewdly, knowing how much the boy appreciated his meals. 

"Even though I missed breakfast," James confirmed. 

"Congratulations, Lily," Sirius said from behind the two. "You've been deemed worthy enough for Prongs to miss a meal." 

"Thank you," Lily said sarcastically. "It's nice to be considered more important than food." 

Meanwhile, a few rows back, Danielle was asking her boyfriend about his whereabouts earlier in the morning. 

"I was sending a letter to my parents," Kendall told her. 

"It took you that long to send a letter?" 

"Well, I had to make sure it had everything I needed to say. I kept changing it." Kendall looked at the desk. "Listen, I'm sorry I worried you. Can we not talk about this right now? Look, Professor McGonagall's about to speak." He turned his attention to the front of the room, seemingly very interested in today's lecture. 

Danielle exchanged a look with Victoria, who looked concerned as well. Kendall was acting odd, and not in a good way. 

*** 

"Let's go to Hogsmeade next weekend," James said, stopping in the middle of his essay about mushrooms. He was getting exceedingly bored with the topic, and the atmosphere in the library was not helping any. 

Across the table, Lily put down her quill. "That's a good idea. I need to get Alyssa a birthday present." 

"Good." James adjusted his glasses. "You know what else is coming up?" 

"No." 

"Valentine's Day." 

"Is it?" Lily pondered for a moment. "Yes, I suppose it is." 

James teased, "I thought all girls had a way of knowing when Valentine's Day is near." 

"Clearly you were wrong," Lily said goodnaturedly. "Finish your essay." 

***

Sirius found Melanie waiting for him in the common room. The girl was staring at her lap with a serious expression on her face. She seemed to be deep in thought. Sirius sat down in the chair across from her, wondering what she wanted to talk about. 

"Good evening," Sirius greeted his Transfiguration partner. "Care to explain what this is about?" He immediately became the focus of Melanie's blue eyes. 

Melanie cleared her throat. She couldn't remember ever being this nervous around Sirius before. "I wanted to tell you something." 

When she didn't go on, Sirius prompted her. "Yes?" 

"Remember when you—er—asked me to be your girlfriend?" 

 Where was this going? Sirius nodded slowly. "Hard to forget that sort of thing." 

Melanie suddenly wished that she had told him to meet her in a more private place. The crowded Gryffindor common room wasn't exactly the best place to go about revealing her feelings to Sirius. 

 "I—" Melanie's mouth felt very dry. "I've changed my mind." 

There was a slight pause. "Well," Sirius said, unable to think of anything more articulate to say. He leaned back in his chair. "Well."

Melanie anxiously awaited his response, her eyes searching frantically for any indication of a negative response. 

Sirius chuckled softly and shook his head. "Incredible."

Melanie wasn't sure what to make of that statement. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed that you still wanted—"

"No, you assumed right." 

A perplexed expression on her face, Melanie leaned forward a bit more. "Then you—"

"Yes." Sirius said calmly. "I'm actually very flattered. I didn't think you'd ever change your mind about me."

"You're not upset about before?" she inquired timidly.

"I forgave you for that the moment it happened." Sirius took one of her hands in both of his. "You're sure this is what you want to do? Sometimes you can be rather fickle." 

Melanie took a deep breath. "Yes," she said with finality. 

"In that case, would you consider going to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?" 

"Certainly." Melanie stood. "It's official then?" 

Sirius nodded. 

"I should go to bed." Melanie reluctantly pulled her hand away and turned to leave. 

"Melanie, before you go…" 

Melanie looked at Sirius, and before she realized what was happening, Sirius had pressed his lips to hers in the most amazing kiss she had ever received. Well, to be honest, she'd never been kissed before, but she was sure it was very good. When Sirius pulled away (much too soon, in Melanie's opinion), his and Melanie's ears were met with the sound of applause and a few cheers. Melanie blushed. 

"Sorry," Sirius apologized. "I've been wanting to do that for some time. Do you mind?" (AN: Anyone remember chapter 5?)

"No," Melanie replied breathily, her mind spinning from the intensity of the kiss. 

"Good." Sirius grinned. "There's a lot more where that came from." 

TO BE CONTINUED… 

Author's Note: That crazy Sirius… He's so fun, though. Jeez… 237 reviews… That's quite a bit. Hopefully I'll raise that number with this chapter… *hint hint* Just kidding, but it would be nice. Sorry for taking so long to put up new chapters… To be honest, I know exactly how this story is going to end up, but I have no idea how it's gonna get there… Darn middles… They're always harder to write than beginnings and ends… 

BIG THANK YOU TO: the all mighty and powerful*M, Tigra and Loup, rosezgarden, Lucky-719, Forbidden, Guardian of the Moon, SuicidesXBlood, punkkittin01, Thursday, Oliverwoodschic, Mistress del Mare, Little House Girl, Empress Genevieve, hplover13, Chicken Stars, Toria, Azazel of Hellfire, Elvin Flame, Donzabobo, the Five of Spades, SquashyMuffin, SilentMidnight, inluvwithjames, Trinity Day, lightyearsaway, Prof. Luna Sinistra, Be Summer Rain, choco1207, tomzgurl77, BotherBother69, sato onigiri, Potterschick, Kat44, Adriana Chan, Seeker4Life, Mistress of the Lake, kitty-gurl1, kathleen teresa, Tom girl, Loony bout Lupin, bebe-chrissy, butterflyer, WolfMoon, Legolas' Girl, hefelump, teresaangel, HotchPotch Emily, AllyCat739, SdRockGirl, Maeven, LJstagflower4e/JCtigerwolf4e, crystaldreams611, kimmerz, crazyinluv, Anna L. Black, LiLy*eVaNs*PoTTeR2, Skittles713, Elven Dagger, BastsCleopatra, J.E.A.R.K.Potter, wizardduel2, ChickoftheDarkMoon, FrightninglyObsessed, Dark-invisible-rapist-stalker, lilypotterfan, Abby123, PrincessSkywalkerOrgana, Heather Young, Drakor419, and all the anonymous reviewers!


	18. What Do You Mean?

Author's Note: Another chapter in the lives of our favorite Marauders! It's Valentine's Day! Er, in the story, at least. There are some slight spoilers for _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix _in here, but they're not major. 

Title: Partners in Love

Rating: PG

Spoilers: As always, _Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire_, but just a little bit. 

Summary: In Transfiguration class, Lily gets paired with James for the whole year and, well, you can guess what happens…

Disclaimer: Nope! Not me! I don't own anything except for… the non-famous stuff.

Setting: This story is set in Lily and James's days at Hogwarts. It starts out in 5th year. 

*** = setting change

_italics_ = emphasis

_italics_ = thoughts

~What Do You Mean?~

The Three Broomsticks was a lively place, especially with the addition of Hogwarts students for the day. Alyssa and Remus were two who had decided to grace the place with their presence. The two of them were currently sitting at a table, having a pleasant discussion of a book that they both had read.  

"No, that can't be what she meant," Alyssa said. She stopped twirling her hair around her finger in order to pick up her tankard and drink some of the butterbeer that Remus had offered to pay for. She hadn't let him, but she did think the gesture was very polite. 

"Why not?" replied Remus, awaiting her answer with a smile. 

Alyssa began, "Well, in chapter three—"  
  


She was interrupted by Sirius's voice. "Well, what do we have here?" Sirius and Melanie seated themselves at the table. They had been holding hands, and they didn't let go after sitting down. 

Alyssa smiled. "Hello, Sirius. Hi, Mel. How are you two?" 

"Great," answered Sirius. "Ever since Miss Melanie here finally came to her senses, we've been happier than ever." 

Melanie blushed. "Sirius, do you have to say it like that?" 

"Why not?" Sirius replied, leaning toward her. He smiled, an event that had been occurring more frequently in the past five days. "It's true, isn't it?" His expression reminded Alyssa of her neighbor's dog, which was always full of energy and never seemed to have negative emotions. Sirius was clearly happy with his new relationship. Now all he had to do was _stay_ happy with it. 

Remus said, "I'm sure it's true. You've certainly been saying it enough these past few days." He lifted his tankard and finished his warm beverage. 

"Where are the others?" Melanie queried. 

"Well, I don't know where James is," Alyssa replied, "but Lily just stormed out of here looking for him. She—er—wasn't very happy with James when she left." 

Seeing Melanie's slightly puzzled look, Remus elaborated. "He was late meeting her—_very _late." 

"Absent, really," said Alyssa. 

Sirius chuckled at that. 

Alyssa continued, "And… I think Dani and Kendall went to Madam Puddifoot's." 

Sirius made a face. "That place should not exist. I swear, going in there is worse than facing Lord Voldemort himself." 

Remus reminded him, "Padfoot, you've never faced Lord Voldemort." 

"Well, no, I haven't. But I'm sure he's not as bad as that place. Sitting in Madam Puddifoot's—worst experience of my life, that." Sirius gave a slight shudder. He turned to Melanie. "Mel, promise me you will never take me there. _Please_." 

"Um, I—I promise," Melanie said, now wondering what horrors lay within the tea shop. 

Amused at Sirius's impassioned plea, Remus laughed and said, "Peter's still in Honeydukes." 

"And Victoria said something about going to buy a new quill." Alyssa finished her butterbeer and stood up. "I'll go get some more. Any of you want anything?" 

Remus was halfway out of his seat and about to offer to go with her when Sirius spoke up. 

"Don't bother, Alyssa. Remus and I will get the drinks." He let go of Melanie's hand, allowing her to place it in her lap. "Mel, anything?" 

Melanie shook her head. "I'm not thirsty." 

"Oh, come on," Sirius insisted. "I'll pay for it." 

"I don't need anything." 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yes."

"Because I can get you something if you—"

Melanie laughed. "Sirius, I'm fine. Don't worry about me." 

Remus rolled his eyes. "Come on, Padfoot." He gestured for Sirius to follow him, and then furrowed his brow in mock uncertainty. "Or is it 'loverboy'?" 

"Hey!" came Sirius's indignant reply. 

"Prongs isn't here, and _someone _needed to say it," Remus answered, turning his head to grin at the taller boy behind him. 

"Well, you can just—" The rest was drowned out by the voices of a group of chattering witches who had just entered the establishment. 

The girls smiled at the boys' banter. Alyssa rested her arms on the table and focused on Melanie. "Are you glad that you finally decided to say yes to him?" 

"He's wonderful." Melanie sighed. "I just hope I can make him as happy as he's already made me." 

"I don't think that will be a problem," Alyssa said, glancing toward the counter, where the boys were waiting for their order. She looked back at her friend. "Sirius won't be losing that smile for a long time." 

The blonde ducked her head bashfully, and Alyssa took the opportunity to look at her a bit more closely. Had Melanie's hair always been that golden? Or did Sirius bring out that light in her? 

***

"James Potter!" 

James cringed upon hearing his angry girlfriend's voice. Slowly he turned around to greet her. He pasted a smile on his face. "Hello, Lily." 

"Where have you been?" Lily demanded, stomping up to him. "You told me you'd meet me in the Three Broomsticks fifteen minutes after you _left _me standing_ all by myself!_ I let you have those fifteen minutes, but I have since been waiting for over an hour! I have also been running around Hogsmeade for the past half-hour, looking for you! What do you have to say for yourself? What? _What_?" She paused. "What?" she added for good measure. 

James flinched with each "What?" Attempting to pacify the young witch in front of him, he said, "Happy Valentine's Day." 

"Happy? Happy?!"

"Yes." 

Lily's green eyes narrowed dangerously. "Happy," she repeated. 

"Happy. Yes." 

"Happy?" 

James could see that he would get nowhere if this line of conversation continued. He hugged Lily. "How about—er, sorry?" 

Lily sighed. "Happy Valentine's Day, James."

"You don't hate me, right?" 

"Not anymore." 

"What?" 

"I'm kidding." 

"Oh." James released her. "Do you want your present now?" 

Lily put her hands on her hips. "How about an explanation instead?" 

*** 

Victoria Arlington was inside Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, trying to pick out a quill. Two, actually. She had noticed that Lawrence could do with a new one. He had taken it out several times during their meetings in a secluded corner of the library to write down the plans they came up with for Alyssa's birthday surprise. 

The raven-haired girl could not fathom why Lawrence had come to her instead of Lily or Melanie for help with his sister's birthday. Those two were closer to Alyssa, after all, and would certainly have more definite ideas about what she would like. Perhaps they were too close, though—close enough that Alyssa would notice if they were missing. Victoria shook that thought from her mind. Melanie and Lily could have formed plausible excuses to remove themselves from their friend's presence. The question lingered in Victoria's mind—why had Lawrence chosen her? Not that she minded, of course. 

Victoria was finding it very hard to compare colors with two chattering seventh year girls standing behind her. She had seen them talking when she came in, but she hadn't thought they were speaking very loudly. However, the shop was less full of customers than it had been earlier. 

One of the girls was Leah, a Gryffindor who was part of Lawrence's group of friends. Victoria wasn't familiar with the other girl, but she did know that the girl was in Ravenclaw. 

She was about to turn around to tell the girls very politely to be quiet and stay that way when she realized what—or whom, rather—they were talking about. 

"She's pretty enough, I suppose," said the soft-voiced Ravenclaw. 

Leah replied, "He's head over heels for her. Lawrence Parker, fancying one of his little sister's friends. I never thought I'd see the day." 

Her friend said, "I guess that ruins it for the rest of us." 

Victoria continued looking at the display of quills, trying not to look like she was eavesdropping. 

"He'll probably ask her out soon," she heard Leah say. "He's dying to, I'm sure." 

"Let's go, before someone overhears us." 

Victoria heard the door to the shop open and close. Had the girls been talking about her? She thought for a moment. Lily, Melanie, and Danielle all had boyfriends now. That left Victoria as the only possibility. But Alyssa probably had other friends in other houses. _They couldn't possibly have meant me,_ Victoria thought. _Could they?_

***

"I was helping out a friend," James said. 

"Who?" Lily wanted to know. 

"I… don't know." 

Lily stared. "You… don't know this friend of yours that you helped…"

"She wasn't as much of a friend as… a victim of a duel and a prank gone wrong." 

"James Potter, what did you do?" 

"I was trying to get back at Snivellus and some of his friends for hexing me yesterday," James explained. "After I got your present, I saw them standing right there," he said, gesturing to the abandoned shack down the road. "And we got to dueling… There was this girl behind me—I think she's a third year… Anyway, Snivellus threw a curse at me, and I dodged, but it hit the girl instead." He lowered his gaze. "Er—then she stumbled, and she… came across the trap I'd laid for the Slytherins."

Lily's green eyes looked larger than usual. "What—?"

"Let's just say it wasn't pretty," James said, ashamed. "The stupid gits ran away at that point. The girl was bleeding and unconscious… and still caught in my trap. It took me a while to get her out. I didn't think it would be that difficult to counteract the effects of the prank, but I guess my spells are stronger than I thought. I—I'm sorry, Lily. I didn't mean to make you wait so long."

Lily sighed, knowing that she'd already forgiven him. "You're sweet, James." 

James scratched his head. "Well, I figured that you wouldn't like it if I left someone in real trouble." 

"No, I wouldn't," Lily agreed. 

"So I did the right thing?" 

"For once in your life," she said wryly. She took his arm and steered James in the direction of the Three Broomsticks. "Let me buy you a drink?" she asked, leaning on James's shoulder. 

James looked down at her head. "Wouldn't you want me to buy you one instead?" 

"If you want," Lily said lightly. "You're sweet," she added, smiling.  

"So I've heard." 

***

Peter Pettigrew entered the Three Broomsticks, loaded down with sweets. "Hey, guys," he said, approaching the table at which his friends were seated. 

"Wormtail!" Sirius exclaimed, causing the witches at the next table to stare at him. "Perhaps you could settle a debate for us."  
  


"Sure, Sirius." Peter bit the head off a Chocolate Frog. "What is it?" 

"Moony thinks Goyle is more stupid than Crabbe, but I think it's the other way around." 

Peter chewed thoughtfully before answering. "I agree with Remus." 

Sirius's face fell. Moony looked at the dark-haired wizard. "Pay up, Padfoot." 

Sirius rolled his eyes and pulled out five Galleons. "Congratulations, my friend. I am now broke because of you." 

"I'm sure," Remus said dryly while cheerfully accepting the money. "After all, it's not as if you belong to the Black family, one of the richest wizarding families around."

"Room for one more?" asked a female voice from behind Peter. 

"Hey, Vicky," the sixth years chorused. 

"Did you get a new quill?" Melanie asked curiously. 

Victoria nodded. She waved her hand at the table. "This table is big enough for more seats," she said. "You wouldn't want me and poor Peter to stand on our feet the whole time, would you?" 

"Of course not," Alyssa said. She stood up. "Chairs…"

"Madam Rosmerta," Sirius called to the passing barmaid, "do you think we could have a few more chairs?" He put on his best charming smile. 

Madam Rosmerta smiled back. "Oh, you know I can't refuse that smile." 

"Of course he does—that's why he used it," Remus muttered. 

Alyssa heard this and giggled. 

"Where is that James Potter?" Madam Rosmerta asked, looking around as she brought over some chairs. "He can't be very far." 

At that moment, Lily and James entered the pub, arm-in-arm. 

"Ah, there he is," said the woman, satisfied. She fetched two more chairs, then smiled and went back to work. 

"I am not!" Lily said, drawing close to the table. 

"Are too," James replied. "Let's ask these random people here, shall we?" 

"Random?" Victoria said, pretending to be offended. "I'll have you know that we are insane, not random." 

Lily gave a fake laugh. "Vicky, you are so _very_ droll."

"Thank you." Victoria looked from Lily to James and back again. "What were you two arguing about?" 

"James says I'm moody on major holidays." 

The others didn't reply. "And?" Alyssa said, waving her hand as a signal to continue. 

"And… I disagree," Lily said, frowning. "You—you don't think he's _right_, do you?" She looked at each of her friends. 

Silence.

"Sorry, Lily," Melanie spoke up. 

Lily was stunned. "You all think I'm moody on major holidays?" 

Sirius muttered under his breath, "That's not the only time you're moody." 

"What?" 

"Nothing." 

"Oh, never mind," Lily said, annoyed. She turned to James, who was smiling because the others had agreed with him. "What's this present you got for me anyway?" inquired Lily, trying to look into his bag.

James carefully pushed the bag under his seat. "It's a surprise." 

"Why?" 

"Why?" he repeated, confused. 

"Why is it a surprise?" clarified Lily. 

"Because it is." James ran a hand through his hair. "I'll give it to you when we get back." 

"The suspense is killing me," Lily deadpanned. "In that case, I'll give you your present back at the castle too," she said, swishing her hair out of her face. 

The teenagers began discussing what they had done during their time at Hogsmeade. Twenty minutes later, they all jumped when they heard the door suddenly slam open. A very miffed, confetti-covered Danielle stomped into the bar, followed by Kendall. 

"How, uh—how was Madam Puddifoot's?" asked Alyssa, watching Danielle claw ineffectively at her hair, which was coated with little pink particles. 

Sirius gave an involuntary shudder.

Danielle nodded shortly, as if she were agreeing with him. "That place is _insufferable_," she complained to the group seated around the table. She rounded on Kendall. "Why—_why_ did you take me there?" 

A few eyebrows were raised at this statement. 

Kendall frowned, pulling up a chair. "I thought you'd like it." 

"What? No!" Danielle exclaimed. "Why would you think that?" 

"Jonathan's girlfriend recommended it to me," Kendall replied. 

Danielle threw up her hands. "Jenna? Jenna is a sissy! She's a flowery, fragile little girly-girl!" 

"What does that mean?" Kendall asked uncertainly. "What does that mean?" he repeated, turning to the others for help. 

"I don't think she enjoyed it, mate," James told him. 

Danielle continued her rant. "I'm more feminine than some other girls I know, but I cross the line at fancy, frilly, pink things!" 

"There weren't that many—"

"I am not finished!" Danielle thundered. 

Kendall shut his mouth. 

"First, I don't like tea, so I have no bloody idea why you took me to a tea shop. Second, why would you take the advice of Jenna, of all people? Jenna! Couldn't you have asked Vicky instead? Or Alyssa! Lily? Melanie? _Anyone_ but Jenna! Severus Snape would have had a better suggestion!" Danielle huffed. "Third, why didn't you have enough sense to listen to your own instincts? You couldn't possibly have _liked _that place, could you?" she asked, looming over her nervous boyfriend. "Fourth, pink! Did you not notice that the place was _pink_? Do I wear pink? Do I like pink? No!" 

(AN: By the way, no offense to people who like tea, are named Jenna, or like the color pink.)

"Done?" asked Victoria. She pulled out her wand and easily rid her friend of the offending pink confetti. 

"Yeah." Danielle plopped down in a chair. "So what are we talking about?" 

TO BE CONTINUED… 

Author's Note: I think I made the girls too mean and temperamental… Anyway, I totally loved writing this chapter. I hope you enjoy reading it. See you next chapter! 


	19. You Were Saying?

Author's Note: Hmm… I'm hoping this chapter will be long enough to satisfy people.

Title: Partners in Love  
Rating: PG  
Spoilers: _Prisoner of Azkaban _and_ Goblet of Fire_, but just a little bit.  
Summary: In Transfiguration class, Professor McGonagall makes a surprising announcement—this year, the sixth years will be working as partners! Lily gets paired with James for the whole year and, well, you can guess what happens…  
Disclaimer: Nope! Not me! I don't own anything except for the non-famous stuff.  
Setting: This story is set in Lily and James's days at Hogwarts. It starts out in their fifth year and continues from there.

--- - setting change  
_italics_ - emphasis

-You Were Saying?-

The Gryffindors piled into the common room, tired from the excitement of the Hogsmeade visit earlier that day. One boy in the back of the large group pulled his girlfriend a few feet away from the group.

"I'll be back in a bit," said Kendall to Danielle. "I need to see Jonathan about something."

"I'll bet," answered the young witch. "If Jenna tries to give you any advice, don't take it."

Kendall smiled. "I'll keep that in mind." He turned and rushed off.

Danielle shook her head in amusement and followed the last of the third years into the common room.

---

Lily didn't say a word about it, but James was sure that she was waiting for him to give her his Valentine's Day present. He decided to let her squirm a little bit longer. Not that she was _actually _doing any squirming—that would certainly be very odd.

Hmm. This was getting boring.

"Lily!" James gave a sudden shout, causing many in the common room to jump and look around swiftly to see what the commotion was about. Ignoring the stares he received, he crossed the room to where Lily was sitting with her female friends. He said, "I've decided that now is the time to give you the present I picked out."

Lily looked up at him. "All right."

James took the present out of its bag. Just as he was about to hand the nondescript box to her, he pulled back a little. "Promise you won't get mad?" he asked.

A small sense of fear rose up within Lily. What could James possibly mean by that?

The girls peeked over Lily's shoulder.

She reached inside and lifted out a scarf. "It's gorgeous," Lily breathed, admiring the cloth's striking green color. The locket around her neck glowed orange-yellow in delight. Lily read the attached note, which explained that the designs on the scarf changed every day. Remembering what James had said, she whapped him on the shoulder. "You jerk," she said, smiling. "Why are you so nice to me?"

James shrugged. "Why shouldn't I be?" He smiled slightly. "You'll probably be hearing this a lot from me, but the color reminded me of your eyes." He mulled over what he had just said. "I sound like a sap."

Lily leaned over to give him a light kiss on the cheek. "James Potter, you are maddeningly sweet." She pulled out her wand. "_Accio _present!" she said, concentrating on the box that held her gift to James. A moment later, a long, thin package came zooming down the stairwell. Lily deftly caught it out of the air. "Here." She handed it to the young wizard in front of her.

Remus, Peter, and Sirius exchanged grins as their friend ripped the wrapping off the cylindrical package. They had helped Lily pick out the gift, knowing James's likes and dislikes very well.

James whooped when he unrolled the Quidditch poster that Lily had given him. Every member of his favorite team had signed it. "Wow!" James exclaimed. "This is great, Lily!" He used the Levitation Charm so he could admire the poster in all its glory. "And I was afraid you'd get me something stuffy and Valentiney!"

"_Valentiney_?" mouthed Lily to herself. She shook her head. "Keep in mind, though, I'm counting this as part of your birthday present. It was too hard to obtain to be only a Valentine's Day gift. Is that all right?"

"Yeah, yeah," James said absently, flapping a hand in her direction. "Where should I put it?"

Sirius said, "I don't care, as long as you don't cover up any of _my _posters."

James didn't even hear him; he was too excited. "I'll put it above my bed. That way, when I wake up each morning, I'll see it."

Sirius addressed the others in a mock whisper. "This coming from the boy who doesn't want to wake up to a picture of his girlfriend."

James replied indignantly, "I've never seen _you_ with a picture of _your _girlfr—" He faltered, seeing Sirius smirking at him while nonchalantly holding a photograph between his fingers.

"You were saying?" (AN: Terribly cliché, I know, but I couldn't resist.)

"Well, what do I need a picture for?" James said in an attempt to save his dignity. "I see Lily every day."

"You don't _have _to have one," Sirius remarked, tucking away Melanie's picture, "but I think Miss Evans would be flattered if you liked her appearance enough to keep with you a relatively permanent image of her."

James looked at Lily helplessly. "Who—who has a camera?" he asked, turning to his fellow Gryffindors.

Lily put a hand on his arm. "James, don't worry about it. I'll give you a photograph later." She looked at the Quidditch poster, which was still floating about five feet in the air. Glancing at the other Marauders, she said, "I would like to thank Sirius, Remus, and Peter for helping me in the selection and acquisition of this present." She frowned slightly. "Although Sirius did manage to confuse me for a while at the beginning."

Sirius grinned cheekily. "All part of the plan, dear."

Lily made a face at him.

---

Sitting by himself in the corner, Remus watched his friends engage in a mock battle which was becoming steadily more dangerous. He had opted not to participate, knowing full well that James Potter and Sirius Black were particularly adept at transfiguring things, and he did not want to spend the weekend as a frog or other such thing. He also did not want anything to happen to any of his limbs, which had a high probability of occurring in the presence of Peter Pettigrew, who was not very gifted with magic. Peter often fumbled up a spell so that something nasty actually did happen, whether he expected it or not. This delighted James and Sirius, who loved causing trouble.

Remus did not expect to be approached by anyone, so when he felt a presence beside his chair, he looked up in a rather surprised fashion. Lily was holding out the box of candy with which James had presented her earlier that evening.

"Want some chocolate?" Lily offered. "I can't eat all this."

"Sure." Remus took a piece from the box as Lily sat in a chair next to him. He chewed thoughtfully for a few moments. He swallowed, and then he cleared his throat for a bit longer than was considered normal.

Lily glanced at him. "Something on your mind?"

Remus looked around the room furtively before answering. "Alyssa's birthday is in four days, isn't it?"

Lily nodded. "Mm-hmm…" She turned away from the boy, momentarily distracted by a cry of, "Padfoot, you idiot, you're going to set the whole room on fire!"

"Wormtail, help me put it out!"

"Prongs, what in Merlin's name are you doing?!"

"What am I _doing_? What are _you _doing?!"

"Stop, you're making it worse!"

"You boys are hopeless," declared Alyssa, stepping forward, her wand at the ready. "Mel, help me out?"

Trusting her best friends to handle the situation, Lily returned her attention to Remus. "You've had to live in the same room with those people for almost six years?" She shook her head. "You're a brave soul, Remus Lupin."

Remus laughed softly.

"I'm sorry," Lily said. "What were we talking about?"

"Alyssa's—"

"Oh, yes. What about it?"

"Do you think she would mind if I gave her a gift that I made myself?" Remus asked. "I didn't have quite enough money to buy the present I wanted to get…" He looked down at his lap, suddenly ashamed of his lack of wealth. James and Sirius both came from wealthy families. Peter wasn't quite as rich, but his family did all right. The Lupins tried their best, but they barely made enough to support themselves. Remus felt as if their situation were his fault. Maybe if his parents didn't spend so much time worrying about him and his—_condition_, then they'd be better off.

Lily smiled understandingly. "I'm sure she'll love it."

"It's very plain," replied Remus. "I'm not the most creative person."

Lily thought it was simply adorable how much Remus cared about pleasing Alyssa. "Listen, the gift is from you, isn't it? I know I'd appreciate a birthday gift from you, whether or not you made it yourself."

"But—"

"And I wouldn't care if it wasn't creative."

"Hey!" James popped up suddenly next to Lily. "What's going on?" He looked a little singed.

"We were just talking," said Lily, looking up at his tall frame. Briefly, she considered trying to clean him up, then changed her mind.

"_Were_ you?" James looked suspiciously between the two, squinting. "Hmm…" He rubbed his chin. "Moony, you're not attempting to steal my girlfriend, are you?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Yes, James, we're going to run away together tomorrow night."

"Aha! So my suspicions are correct!"

Remus smiled good-naturedly. "And we're taking your broomstick."

James's glasses nearly fell off his face. "What?! Over my dead body!"

Nearby, Danielle laughed and said, "Notice how he defends the broomstick, but not Lily." She looked toward the portrait hole. Kendall had just returned to Gryffindor Tower. "I'll be right back," she said to Victoria.

Meanwhile, as Remus and Lily attempted to reassure James that nothing would happen to his beloved broomstick, Melanie stood in front of Alyssa and asked her a question. "What are you reading?"

Alyssa looked up over the top of her book. She smiled. "This? I borrowed it from Remus." She tilted the book so that the cover was visible.

Melanie bent down to get a better look. "Vampires, huh?" she commented, sitting down beside her best friend. "You and Remus have been spending a lot of time with each other lately, haven't you?"

Alyssa laughed. "Not nearly as much as Lily and James have. Those two just can't bear to be separated. I wouldn't be surprised if they got married." (AN: grin) She continued, "Remus is nice. I've never met anyone who enjoys reading as much as I do." Catching a glimpse of a certain dark-haired mischief-maker, she asked, "Sirius treats you right?"

"Yes. I like spending time with him." Melanie watched her boyfriend laugh about something with Peter. "I don't think he… treated girls _badly_, just… not for very long."

Alyssa watched Sirius as well. "I think you've changed him for the better."

"But that doesn't help all the girls he's hurt." Melanie looked troubled.

Kindly, her friend replied, "Mel, you're amazing."

The blonde turned toward her, puzzled.

"Not many girls would care about their boyfriend's ex-girlfriends."

Mel looked past Alyssa at another girl. "Dani was one of them. I can't forget that. I can't forget how she was when Sirius broke up with her."

Alyssa smiled. "Just be happy, all right?"

---

Assuring her partner that she was perfectly capable of doing her Transfiguration essay by herself, Victoria had settled at a table in the library at lunch, hoping to complete her work before class began. After fifteen minutes of complete silence, she was interrupted by a now-familiar figure.

Lawrence Parker sat down across from her. "Hi. Do you mind?"

Victoria shook her head.

"Just one more day… Do you think Alyssa suspects anything?" asked Lawrence.

"No, I think we're all set," Victoria replied, looking up from her homework. "We don't need to meet anymore."

Lawrence nodded shortly. "Right."

Victoria allowed herself to feel only a slight twinge of disappointment before starting a new paragraph.

Lawrence gave an abrupt laugh. In answer to Victoria's inquisitive look, he said, "Remember the Yule Ball?"

"Yes, I do."

"We had fun, didn't we?" He looked… _hopeful_.

The sixth year answered, "Yes. You were a perfect gentleman, and I enjoyed my evening very much." To Victoria, this was a huge understatement, but—

"I think I like you."

Victoria's quill decided that it no longer wanted to be held by its owner and dropped to the floor. Madam Pince shushed it.

"Oh," said Victoria.

Lawrence was blushing in the most adorable manner. "Would you consider going on a date with me sometime?"

The world's strongest Cheering Charm would have been no match for Victoria Arlington's emotions at that moment. After nearly two years of liking Lawrence Parker, she was finally—_finally_—getting what she wanted.

Clearing her throat, the girl replied offhandedly, "Sure, why not?"

---

Kendall Wexler sat on his bed in the sixth year boys' dormitory, having excused himself during lunch to read a letter that his parents had sent him. He stared at the bottom of the parchment, where the words that sealed his fate were written.

_Kendall, we know that this country will always be home to you, but our decision is final. We are going, and you are coming with us. _

Kendall sighed. Moving to another country wouldn't be so bad if he weren't involved with Danielle. _How am I supposed to tell her?_ he wondered. _She'll hex me the minute I do._ He walked slowly to the Great Hall, looking very solemn. How was he going to stand seeing his girlfriend's face after he gave her the news?

---

Kendall slowly walked toward the area of the table that his Gryffindor friends were currently occupying. Victoria was nowhere to be seen, but everyone else was there, laughing and talking. Kendall was afraid. He didn't know how Danielle would react to the news, but he was sure that it would not be pleasant. Finally, he came to stand behind James and Sirius.

"Something wrong?" inquired Remus from across the table.

Kendall couldn't reply; he was staring intently at the girl seated beside Remus. How could he do this to such a sweet, fun-loving girl?

Danielle looked up at him then, and the brightness died from her face.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: Oh, look at that… I have a cliffhanger. cringes Y'all are gonna hate me now, aren't ya? Credit goes to phatting-grl, who gave me the idea for the scarf one day at lunch. She's writing a_ Pirates of the Caribbean_ fic, if anyone's interested. I'd like some more reviews this time so I can get some feedback to help me with future chapters.


	20. What's Wrong?

Author's Note: Hmm… I'm hoping this chapter will be long enough to satisfy people.

Title: Partners in Love

Rating: PG

Spoilers: As always, _Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire_, but just a little bit.

Summary: In Transfiguration class, Lily gets paired with James for the whole year and, well, you can guess what happens…

Disclaimer: Nope! Not me! I don't own anything except for… the non-famous stuff.

Setting: This story is set in Lily and James's days at Hogwarts. It starts out in 5th year.

!!! = setting change

_italics_ = emphasis

_italics_ = thoughts

-What's Wrong?-

Danielle swallowed. "What is it?" she asked.

Kendall motioned for her to follow him. Danielle, worried at his silence, stood and walked to the doors of the Great Hall. She reached them at the same time that Kendall did. The young wizard held open one of the doors for her as she passed.

"I'm moving," Kendall blurted out before Danielle went any further.

"Oh?" Danielle gave him a little half-smile. "Where to?"

"America."

"America?" she said, clearly surprised. She hadn't realized that Kendall was moving out of the country. "When?"

"This summer," answered Kendall.

Danielle nodded. "Well—I—er—so you'll still be attending Hogwarts until then."

"Yes, but—"

She wasn't quite looking at him anymore. Her senses screamed at her that something was wrong.

"We should break up."

Danielle's eyes widened. "What?"

Kendall looked away, uncomfortable. "I don't see any point in continuing our relationship if I'm moving to another country."

"We can write letters and—well, soon enough, we'll be able to Apparate—" Danielle bit her lip. "There are lots of ways to communicate."

"Danielle, I don't think I could do that."

_Don't cry. Don't let him see you cry_. Danielle inhaled and exhaled silently, attempting to calm herself. "_I_ could," she murmured.

Kendall was looking at the floor now. "It'd be better for me to start over, since I'm going to be living somewhere else from now on."

The bell rang, announcing the end of lunch.

"It's time for Transfiguration," Kendall said. When Danielle didn't move, he nodded and said, "Right. Well, I'll just go on ahead then."

Danielle only began walking when Kendall rounded a corner. She had to keep herself steady for the rest of the afternoon. She couldn't let him see her cry. She wouldn't, because he no longer had any right to witness such emotion from her.

!!!

"Prongs, get off my foot!"

"Move, Moony!"

"My eye!"

"Wormtail, if you don't move your elbow right now, you will never be a father."

The Marauders were currently stuffed into a broom closet, ready to strike at the next person to walk down the corridor.

"Wait, I hear something."

The four eagerly pressed their ears to the door.

"That's Snape's voice."

"All the better then."

"Let's go!"

The Marauders burst through the door, their wands at the ready. Three surprised Slytherins stood before them.

In a flash, James hit them with a spell, knocking them off their feet. Lying on the ground, Snape lifted his head and aimed his wand at James's head.

Peter noticed a cat watching them. "Mrs. Norris!" he said. "Remus, come on!" He began pulling his friend to the end of the corridor.

"James, Sirius, if you don't want to get into trouble, now's your chance to run," Remus said, following Peter.

"Oh, don't be so afraid," Sirius declared. "They haven't yet come up with a detention that's too bad for us."

Unfortunately, James had lost his concentration when Peter announced the presence of the cat. This gave Snape the opportunity he needed to launch a counterattack. The spell hit James in the head, and he stumbled backward into Sirius.

The Slytherins quickly ran off, just as a figure appeared at the opposite end of the corridor.

James staggered to his feet, holding his head. Sirius blinked a few times, trying to clear his vision.

A disoriented James turned around and looked up into the face of the Hogwarts caretaker, Argus Filch.

"Well, well, what do we have here? A couple of troublemakers? Dueling, no doubt."

James squinted as Filch's image blurred and shifted before his eyes. "I don't want any noodles, thank you," he said rather dumbly.

"Noodles?" mouthed Sirius, whose mind was still intact. Aloud, he said, "I prefer steak, myself."

Filch narrowed his eyes even more. He clamped one hand on James's wrist and the other on Sirius's shoulder. "You're going to see the headmaster."

!!!

Victoria entered the common room, accompanied by Lawrence. She giggled when he tripped on his way inside the portrait hole.

"All right?" she asked.

"Yeah." Lawrence ran a hand through his hair in a very James-like fashion.

Victoria didn't notice Alyssa's approach until the other girl was right in front of her.

"Vicky, there's something wrong with Dani, but she won't tell anyone what happened."

"Something wrong?" Immediately, Victoria became concerned.

Alyssa nodded. "She was crying when we last saw her—we thought you'd be the best one to talk to her."

"Yeah, er—" Victoria looked at her new boyfriend apologetically. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow morning then."

"That's fine," Lawrence said understandingly.

Without another word, Victoria ran to the staircase and ascended it as quickly as she could, her long, black hair flying out behind her.

Alyssa peered curiously at her brother. "You're different," she said in an overly suspicious manner. "Did something happen?"

Lawrence just grinned at her. "None of your business, little sister."

"I'm making it my business, big brother."

"Lyssa…"

Alyssa simply stood there, unwilling to let the matter drop.

"I asked her to go out with me."

"Vicky?" she asked.

"Yeah."

Alyssa was still frowning slightly. "Hmm… so that's why you have that stupid smile on your face." Lawrence immediately stopped smiling, and Alyssa began laughing. "I'm kidding, of course. Congratulations."

!!!

The door creaked slightly, announcing to Danielle that she had a visitor. The girl lay on her side on her bed. Her auburn hair was a tangled mess that covered her face.

"Dani?" Victoria's voice could be amazingly soft at times.

"He doesn't want me." Danielle's words were emitted in a tone that was a sharp contrast to her best friend's. She sounded harsh and dead at the same time.

"Who doesn't want you?"

"Kendall." Danielle's gaze remained fixed on the far wall. "He broke up with me."

Victoria cautiously crossed the room and gently seated herself on Danielle's bed. "Are you all right?" asked Victoria.

"No." Danielle started crying. "Why me?" she sobbed. "I never have any luck with boys."

Victoria hugged her best friend. "It's okay," she murmured, smoothing Danielle's hair. "You don't need him."

"Is there something wrong with me?" Danielle whispered.

"No," Victoria tried to reassure her. "You're my best friend, and I wouldn't trade you for anyone else."

Danielle sniffed and sat up. Her tears stopped momentarily. "I just don't understand why he doesn't even want to try. That's what hurts the most—the fact that he cares about me so little that he's given up before he's even left."

Victoria was bothered by this statement. She knew—she _knew_ that Kendall was starting to fall in love with Danielle, if he hadn't done so already. He was worse than Sirius, because he was hurting Danielle even though he felt so strongly about her. Sirius had ended his involvement with Danielle because he no longer felt romantic feelings for her. There had no longer been any hope that their relationship would last. But Kendall—with him, there was something—it was innocently bright, beautiful even, but he didn't want to reach for it anymore.

"You don't need him," Victoria said again. Her best friend didn't need someone who would hurt her to protect himself.

!!!

Lily and Melanie sat at a table in the common room, partnerless. James and Sirius had landed themselves in detention again, along with Peter.

"Miss him?" Lily asked.

"A bit." Melanie glanced sideways at her. "You?"

"I used to be glad when he had detention, because then he would _have _to stay away from me."

Melanie smiled. "Not anymore?"

Lily sighed. "No, not anymore. I just don't understand it. I've had a grudge against him for a long time, but now I like being with him."

"Thank you."

Lily blinked. "For what?" she queried.

"I forgot to thank you before—for helping me decide to be with Sirius." Melanie opened the book in front of her. "I'm happy."

"That's what I'm here for, Mel. Alyssa and I—we always want you to be happy."

Melanie rummaged around in her bag for a quill. "I don't even think I'd mind if he wanted to break up with me, because he's made me so happy in such a short time."

"Don't jinx yourself," Lily said teasingly, with a small hint of seriousness.

Melanie laughed. "Lily, you and I both know that jinxes don't actually work that way."

"Well, I'd still be thinking that way if I wasn't a witch." Lily noticed something sticking out of her friend's bag. "Is that the _Daily Prophet_?"

Melanie looked down, following Lily's gaze. "Oh, yeah, I just began subscribing to it. I figured that I should know a little more about what goes on in the world."

"Mind if I take a look? I'm bored."

"Go ahead," Melanie said, tugging out the newspaper from under something in her bag. She handed it to Lily, who immediately began flipping through it, searching for an article that struck her interest.

"Acorns? There's an article about acorns. Honestly, these people will do anything to sell a newspaper."

Melanie allowed herself a smile as she finished her first paragraph.

Lily muttered, "Angry mobs… illness among chickens… murder?" She stopped to read the article. "Four killed last night… thought to be the work of—You-Know-Who and his followers." She angrily slapped the newspaper down on the table, causing Melanie to jump and spill ink on herself. "More are being killed every day."

"Lily?" asked Melanie, concerned.

Lily looked at her best friend. "Oh, sorry, Mel. _Scourgify_!" She stood up, having too much energy to remain sitting. "I'm going to stop him. I don't want other people to feel pain like mine."

Alyssa tapped her on the shoulder. "Lily, did I just hear you say that you're going to stop You-Know-Who?"

Lily looked over Alyssa's shoulder. Remus was looking in her direction in mild curiosity.

"He already killed my parents, Alyssa. I can't let him keep hurting people." Righteous anger directed Lily's words. "He's evil. He can't kill people just because he thinks they're impure or worthless. He has no right to do that. None."

Melanie stood up. "Lily, you're still in school. What can you do?"

"I don't know, but I'll try my hardest. I'll be the best witch I can be, if only to defeat that monster."

Meanwhile, Remus was considering what he had just heard. Some part of him agreed with Lily, and he had a feeling that his friends would too.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: I'm not sure what the noodle line is about… I just came up with it randomly one day, and I had to use it. The reviews are great. I love getting feedback from readers.

BIG THANK YOU TO: the all mighty and powerfulM, Tigra and Loup, rosezgarden, Lucky-719, Forbidden, Guardian of the Moon, SuicidesXBlood, punkkittin01, Thursday, Oliverwoodschic, Mistress del Mare, Little House Girl, Empress Genevieve, hplover13, envy101, Toria, Angel of Mortality, Elvin Flame, Donzabobo, the Five of Spades, SquashyMuffin, SilentMidnight, inluvwithjames, Trinity Day, lightyearsaway, Prof. Luna Sinistra, Be Summer Rain, choco1207, tomzgurl77, BotherBother69, sato onigiri, Potterschick, Kat44, Adriana Chan, Seeker4Life, Mistress of the Lake, kitty-gurl1, kathleen teresa, Tom girl, Loony bout Lupin, bebe-chrissy, butterflyer, WolfMoon, Legolas' Girl, hefelump, DaRkDrEaMzzz, HotchPotch Emily, AllyCat739, SdRockGirl, Maeven, LJstagflower4e/JCtigerwolf4e, crystaldreams611, kimmerz, crazyinluv, Anna L. Black, LiLyeVaNsPoTTeR2, Skittles713, Elven Dagger, BastsCleopatra, J.E.A.R.K.Potter, wizardduel2, ChickoftheDarkMoon, FrightninglyObsessed, Miguel72001, lilypotterfan, Abby123, PrincessSkywalkerOrgana, Heather Young, Drizzer419, Walking Censure, Auriliayh Ayohna Esrodeyl, HnH4eva, Lttlered, Gimlet, Tourmaline, ron-lover-for-life, crazy4padfoot, Dolineth, Lilliana-Rose, SeCrEt LiLy, MuGgLeNeT27, Prongslette, tHeOnEaNdOnLyStEpHy, Aloria Ellans, lost without a name, and all the anonymous reviewers!

Replies to:

lily: I already have that scene planned out. Now all I have to do is write all the chapters in between!

Tourmaline: Don't worry, the time will come for Lily to open the locket. It just isn't now.

helperism: You are absolutely right. Thank you for giving me the motivation to actually move the story in some direction.


	21. Where Do We Go From Here?

Author's Note: I'm back! After—oy—over a year and a half of hiatus, chapter 21 is finally coming out. I am so sorry. I didn't even realize how long it'd been. Feel free to email me regarding lack of updates. I'm very ashamed that it's taken me this long to get a single chapter out.

Title: Partners in Love

Rating: PG

Spoilers: As always, _Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire_, but just a little bit.

Summary: In Transfiguration class, Lily gets paired with James for the whole year and, well, you can guess what happens…

Disclaimer: Nope! Not me! I don't own anything except for… the non-famous stuff.

Setting: This story is set in Lily and James's days at Hogwarts. It starts out in 5th year.

--- - setting change

_italics - _emphasis

_italics_ - thoughts

-Where Do We Go From Here?-

"Headmaster?"

Albus Dumbledore looked up from his abnormally cluttered desk. "Ah, Miss Evans. Please, sit." Clearing the space in front of him, he said, "Please excuse the mess. I had a very disoriented student in here earlier—James Potter, as a matter of fact—muttering about noodles, I believe, and creating quite a disturbance. Now, what brings you to my office?"

Lily frowned at the noodle comment and sat in a chair. "I'd like to know more about—" She took a deep breath and plunged right in. "I'd like to know about Voldemort, sir."

Dumbledore's light blue eyes twinkled knowingly. "Why would a student concern herself with such matters?"

"Well, shouldn't I?" Lily looked down solemnly at the newspaper in her lap. "Everyone is a potential victim. If I know more about Voldemort, maybe when I'm a little older… Maybe I'll be able to stop the death and destruction he causes. I—I don't know anything about him except for what's printed in the paper." Her fingers very lightly brushed against the locket around her neck. The crystal was colored a dull, grayish-blue. Very quietly, she murmured, "I want to help."

"Very well." The headmaster looked away for a moment, and Lily thought he looked very sad. Then Dumbledore began his story.

---

Five o'clock. Time to wake up. Victoria forced her eyes open, quickly silencing the alarm spell she had placed the previous night. Luckily, Lawrence had taught her how to keep the sound from leaking out through the curtains around her bed, so none of the other girls were disturbed before they needed to be.

Victoria sat up and put her feet on the floor. She had quite a bit of work to do before Alyssa woke up. If she were as skilled as say, Professor Flitwick or Dumbledore, then her task would be very easy indeed. However, she still had time to become an expert, and this was as good a time as any to practice.

Holding up the piece of parchment that Lawrence had given her, she held her wand in front of it and said, "_Lumos_."

There. Now all she had to do was follow the instructions written on it and wait for Alyssa Parker to awake from her slumber.

---

Plotting revenge on Severus Snape for jinxing them, three of the Marauders gathered in a corridor near the Slytherin common room early that Saturday morning.

Sirius yawned. "It's too early in the morning for mischief."

"Padfoot, I'm surprised at you," James admonished him. "It is _never _too early for mischief."

"I'm sure I'd agree if I was actually awake." Sirius looked over at Peter, who was carrying a large spear. "What's that for?"

"You'll see," declared James, grinning devilishly.

Sirius raised his eyebrows in interest. "You've piqued my curiosity, Mr. Prongs."

Peter yelled, "James, watch out—!"

"Merlin's beard!" yelped James. "Wormtail, you nearly skewered me!"

"Sorry!" squeaked the plump boy. "You're the one who wanted me to do this!"

James sighed in mock exasperation. "Is it my fault that you're clumsy?" He frowned, looking around impatiently. "Where in the bogey-filled world is Moony?"

---

When Danielle Phillips awoke that morning, her eyes were greeted with the sight of a highly decorated room. The hangings around Alyssa's bed were covered with birthday greetings and multicolored ribbons. Amidst all the festive materials stood her best friend.

Victoria held a finger up to her lips and walked toward Danielle's bed. "Don't say anything," she whispered. "Let Alyssa wake up on her own." As Danielle mutely nodded her head, Victoria spoke again. "I've been planning this with Lawrence—you know, Alyssa's brother. We're—we're going together now."

Danielle closed her eyes for a few seconds, struggling to keep her face impassive. "Congratulations," she said so quietly that Victoria almost didn't hear her.

"Thank you." Victoria said, "Dani, this is Alyssa's day. I just want to ask you to try to be happy for her sake. She wouldn't want to see you unhappy." Her blue eyes pleaded with Danielle to be strong.

"I understand." The girl turned her head toward Victoria, reaching up with one hand to move some auburn waves over her shoulder. "Vicky, you're my best friend. I want to ask you for a favor."

Victoria pursed her lips in confusion. "What is it?"

"I can't work with him," replied Danielle. "Kendall, I mean. I want to switch partners with you. I'll take Peter."

"Are you sure?" asked Victoria.

"I'm not strong enough, Vicky. If he doesn't want to be with me anymore, I don't see why we should be forced to remain in contact." Danielle put her feet on the floor, about to get out of bed. She perched there for a moment. "I'm not sure I can be happy today."

"If you can't, don't worry about it. I won't ask you to fake anything."

---

Alyssa sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes sleepily. She turned to the side and set her feet on the floor, also pushing aside the hangings around her bed. She stood up, blinked a few times, and promptly sat right back down on the bed.

"Andras the Invincible!" Alyssa gasped. "What is this?"

"Happy birthday!" three voices shouted happily.

She turned around to find Lily, Melanie, and Victoria holding several boxes of presents. "I can't believe you all did this for me."

"Thank Vicky," said Lily, nodding toward the dark-haired girl, "and her new boyfriend."

Alyssa grinned and ran downstairs, followed by her friends. She reached the common room and looked about quickly. She saw Lawrence sitting in a chair, next to the largest cake she had ever seen. She ran to him,  
Victoria following closely.

"Thank you two so much!" exclaimed Alyssa, hugging both Victoria and Lawrence. "I really appreciate this. I've never had a big party before."

Lawrence winked at Victoria. "Then why don't we get it started?" he asked, right before he grabbed a piece of cake and rubbed it in his sister's face.

"Cake fight!"

---

Laughing and uselessly wiping at the remnants of cake on her clothes, Alyssa plopped into a chair, tired from running around the common room.

"Time for gifts," announced Lawrence, placing a big box in her lap. "That's from mum and dad."

Remus Lupin stood slightly distant from all the fun, leaning against the wall near the staircase to the boys' dormitory. He watched Alyssa open gift after gift, waiting for the right opportunity to give her his own present. James and the others were a little peeved that he wasn't joining them today, but he thought Alyssa's smile would make up for that guilt.

"Hey, Remus!"

Remus looked up. Lawrence was looking at him and gesturing for him to come closer. "Do you have anything to say to the birthday girl?"

Alyssa put aside the gift she had just opened and looked up, wondering who Lawrence was calling to. Remus was suddenly standing in front of her with his hands behind his back. "It isn't much, but I made it. I hope you like it." He handed her a very small, gift-wrapped present. "Happy birthday."

Alyssa took the gift in curiosity, wondering what Remus could possibly have made for her that would be so small. It wasn't a book, because it wasn't the right size. The object had a flat, rectangular shape. What would he give her that would be so flat? Alyssa carefully removed the Spellotape holding the gift wrap together and shook into her hand whatever was inside.

A bookmark. A simple bookmark—but it wasn't really so simple, was it? The girl watched as colors shifted on its surface. A charm lay over the object, changing the image on the small page-marker to the last scene she had come across in the book she was currently reading. Alyssa looked up at Remus. "You made this for me?" she asked, sounding almost surprised. She smiled appreciatively. "Thank you."

"It'll change for whatever book you're reading. That way you'll really be able to see what's happening." Remus looked away, slightly bashful. "I thought you'd appreciate having something like this."

"You were right," answered Alyssa, not taking her eyes off the boy in front of her.

Victoria, Lily, and Melanie exchanged looks. They wondered just what was going on in the head of the female bookworm.

---

Minerva McGonagall sat at her desk, grading essays. This batch was horrible. She'd have to ask her second years to rewrite them. She was just about to dip her quill into her inkwell when she heard a voice that she had often heard laughing.

"Professor McGonagall?"

McGonagall looked up, quickly taking in the appearance of Danielle Phillips. "Yes, Miss Phillips, can I help you?"

Danielle cleared her throat. "Professor, I was wondering if I could switch partners with Victoria."

"Oh?" McGonagall looked at Danielle over the top edge of her spectacles. "Is something the matter?"

Danielle fidgeted under her gaze. "Kendall and I are having—_problems_, and we barely want to talk anymore… That's getting in the way of our classwork, and I don't believe we can withstand the effects this is having on our performance in class. Transfiguration is very important, and I don't want to get bad marks because I can't get along with my partner."

"I see." McGonagall shuffled some papers. "Well, if Miss Arlington and Mr. Pettigrew are willing to switch, then you have my permission to do so."

"Thank you, Professor." Then the girl was gone.

McGonagall returned to her work. It was a shame. Kendall Wexler and Danielle Phillips really had made a rather good team. Their grades weren't quite as high as Lily Evans' and James Potter's were, but they had never had a shouting match in her classroom, as the latter two often had. Although, come to think of it, those spats were occurring less often, thankfully.

---

After enough partying in Gryffindor Tower, the fifth years went down to the Great Hall for lunch. Alyssa, clad in a ridiculous pink cape and matching tiara, drew stares from the other students. She hadn't wanted to wear the costume, but Victoria and Lawrence had insisted that she had to wear something that identified her as the birthday girl. "Where's Danielle?" she asked, furrowing her brow as she looked around.

Victoria sighed heavily. "I don't think she'll be coming. She isn't in much of a celebrating mood. She and Kendall aren't together anymore. He's moving this summer. To another country."

"What!" Lily exclaimed. "I ought to hex him!"

"He made a choice," murmured Melanie. "We don't have to agree with it, but we have to respect it."

Lawrence, who had decided to join the fifth year Gryffindors for lunch, nodded. "That's true. There's really nothing to do except be there for Danielle."

"I don't know what to do," Victoria said sorrowfully. "Dani's a sensitive person. When she cries, she doesn't stop for a long time."

"She's never been this broken-hearted over anyone before," commented Alyssa.

"Maybe she just needs to be left alone for a while," said Melanie. "Sometimes people just need to wait it out."

The others all murmured agreement.

Lily looked around and sighed. Where was James? She needed to talk to him. "Where are the boys? They haven't wished you a happy birthday yet, Alyssa." She stood. "I'm going to go look for them."

---

Lily turned a corner in the hallway and spotted her boyfriend standing near a suit of armor.

"James, there you are!" Lily strode toward him, smiling. "I wanted to talk to you."

"Lily!" James's eyes darted quickly from side to side. "Er, I'll talk to you later, all right?"

"James, I haven't seen you all day." Lily furrowed her brow and continued toward him. "It's Alyssa's birthday, and you haven't seen her yet. I also have something important—"

James took a step toward her. "Lily, please, just go back. I'll talk to you later."

Lily tilted her head. "But you're right here. You can't say a simple hello to your girlfriend? I mean, you don't look as if you're busy or anything—"

"Evans, _leave me alone_!"

Lily's eyes widened. Underneath her face, her locket flashed an angry red-orange, quickly melting into a sad blue. Without another word, she ran toward Gryffindor Tower, leaving James standing by himself in the hallway.

---

After a long, grand day of being the birthday girl, Alyssa was actually glad for a little peace and quiet. She climbed the spiral staircase up to the sixth year girls' dormitory and entered the room, where all the others were getting ready for bed. She immediately went to her nightstand and placed her new bookmark inside the book she was reading. After pulling off the tiara and cape, she smiled to herself and lay back on her bed. "I'm really glad that I've gotten to know Remus so much better lately. He really understands me."

Lily, facedown on her bed, said in a muffled voice, "James doesn't understand anything."

Alyssa raised an eyebrow but did not pursue the matter. Lily would tell her the problem soon enough. Looking mainly at Victoria, she said, "Thanks, everyone. This was… the best birthday I've had since I came to Hogwarts. I'm so glad to have you as friends. You know, we've only got one more set of birthdays left to celebrate at school, and then we're going to graduate."

"That's true," Melanie concurred. "We're growing up." She smiled. "I'm glad you had a good birthday, Alyssa."

"Me too."

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: Each new book that comes out is making this story harder to remain true to canon… Keep in mind that I began this story before the fifth book came out. Hmm… What will happen next? Stay tuned!


	22. What Have I Done?

Author's Note: Christ, it's been a while… Sorry it's a few days late… I was finishing it up on Friday, but things came up… Well, this story won the poll, so here I am working on it after over a year and a half of not updating. Keep in mind that this story no longer follows canon because it was written way back when there were only four _Harry Potter_ books in circulation. Anyway, after a long-awaited update, here is chapter 22!

Title: Partners in Love  
Rating: PG  
Spoilers: _Prisoner of Azkaban _and_ Goblet of Fire_, but just a little bit.  
Summary: In Transfiguration class, Professor McGonagall makes a surprising announcement—this year, the sixth years will be working as partners! Lily gets paired with James for the whole year and, well, you can guess what happens…  
Disclaimer: Nope! Not me! I don't own anything except for the non-famous stuff.  
Setting: This story is set in Lily and James's days at Hogwarts. It starts out in their fifth year and continues from there.

--- - setting change  
_italics_ - emphasis

-What Have I Done?-

The next morning, Lily awoke feeling very listless. She lay on her bed for ten minutes, staring at the ceiling, until Melanie awoke in the bed next to hers. Melanie yawned and stretched before sitting up and sliding her legs off the edge onto the floor.

"What do you think he could have been doing last night?" Lily asked abruptly, breaking the silence.

Melanie jerked, caught off guard by the sound. "I don't know, Lily. He was probably pulling a prank with the other boys."

"Did they even wish Alyssa a happy birthday?"

"Sirius said they caught her in the common room before she went to bed."

"Did someone say my name?" called a sleepy voice from one of the other beds. Alyssa poked her head out of the hangings around her bed. "Morning," she said, rubbing her eyes.

"Honestly! Sometimes I think he's matured a great deal, but then he goes and— Ugh, he's just so frustrating sometimes!"

Alyssa raised an eyebrow. "Something on your mind, Lily?"

"One James Potter," Lily said, her voice packed with tension.

"Okay." Alyssa slipped her feet into her slippers and padded over to the other girl's bed. "What happened?" she asked, getting under the covers next to Lily.

Lily took a breath before saying angrily, "I wanted to talk to him about something important, but apparently playing pranks is more important to him."

Melanie cut in, "I'm sure James didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

Lily sat up. "Forget it, I have other things to worry about. Let's go to breakfast."

---

When Melanie and Alyssa came down the staircase, they found James sitting in an armchair near the entrance to the girls' dormitories. Upon seeing the two girls, the boy immediately stood up. "Where's Lily?" he asked, craning his head toward the staircase. He had faint dark circles underneath his eyes, as if he hadn't slept well at all.

Melanie gave him a sympathetic look. "She'll be down soon," she said, just as Lily made her way down the last few steps.

Lily eyed James warily as she stepped onto the common room floor. She hesitated only a moment before looking away and walking confidently toward where her friends were standing. James followed her, craning his neck in an attempt to make eye contact. "Lily, I'm sorry."

Lily chose not to look at him as she replied, "I really wanted to talk to you, James, and you just pushed me away."

"Lily, please, I didn't mean—"

With Melanie in tow, Lily ignored James's pleas as she walked straight to the portrait hole and left the common room. Alyssa lagged behind. Once Lily was out of earshot, she turned to James. "Give her some time," she advised. "I'm sure she'll be more willing to listen to you after she has some time to calm down and think." With that, she also disappeared from the common room.

James sighed, his eyes downcast. A moment later, he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Any luck?" came the familiar voice of his best friend.

"No, Padfoot. I really, _really_ upset her this time."

---

Breakfast was a somber occasion. It began with an announcement by the headmaster that more Muggle killings had been reported, including the death of the parents of a Muggle-born Hufflepuff girl.

"It's so sad," Alyssa remarked, her eyes on the crying girl at the other table. "I don't know what I'd do if that happened to my parents." Realizing that she had probably just reminded her best friend of her parents' murder, she quickly apologized. "Sorry, Lily," she said to the girl sitting next to her.

Lily gave her a forgiving smile. "Don't worry about it. It isn't your fault."

Attempting to change the subject, Alyssa turned to the boy across the table from her. "You know, Remus, I really love the present you gave me yesterday. It's brilliant."

Remus smiled shyly. "I'm glad. I know you love books, so I thought it was appropriate."

Alyssa did love books. They were full of mysteries. Each page held something new, something exciting. It was this same sense of mystery that drew her to Remus. Remus was like a good book—simple but complex, fun yet serious. Alyssa didn't completely understand everything about Remus yet, but she felt sure that each chapter of his life held something interesting for her to discover.

---

Lily spent most of the afternoon in the library working on a Charms assignment and a Transfiguration essay, both of which were due the next day. She was just contemplating whether or not to take a break when a shadow fell over the parchment she was reading.

"We missed you at dinner."

Lily glanced up at James. "I wasn't hungry," she said, picking up her essay and scanning it for mistakes.

"Lily, I want to talk to you," declared James. "Please don't ignore me."

Lily paused for a moment, her eyes moving but not reading. "Fine."

"I didn't mean to be rude to you last night," began James. "I'm sorry. We were about to play a prank on Snivellus, and I—well, I didn't want you to get hurt. That's why I was so anxious to get you away from there."

Lily continued to stare at the piece of parchment. "James, you shouldn't be doing such unsafe things to begin with. I really wish you would stop antagonizing Snape, especially with dangerous spells. I'd like to think you're better than that."

"But he—"

"I know he's a prat, and he'd just as soon hex you as look at you, but you don't need to be that way too."

James sighed. "May I apologize again?"

Lily looked at him for a long time, as if she were deciding something. "No," she said finally.

James sat on the edge of the table, a look of confusion etched on his face.

"I don't want you to apologize anymore," Lily stated. "Forgive and forget, right?" She smiled. "Help me with Transfiguration?" She held up her book.

James took the book from her and opened it, smiling in relief. "I'm your partner. Tell me what you need."

---

At midnight, the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open, letting out a tall figure followed by a smaller figure. The two Gryffindors crept quietly through a number of corridors to reach one of the castle towers before finally stepping out into the cold night air. The moonlight revealed the two figures to be Sirius Black and Melanie Daniels.

Sirius smiled as he leaned against the stone wall and looked up at the night sky. He held out a hand to the girl behind him.

"Sirius, this is against the rules," Melanie reminded him.

"Rules?" Sirius laughed. "I don't know the meaning of the word."

Melanie smiled indulgently and took his hand, letting herself be enveloped in a warm embrace. Sirius's daredevil attitude was quite contrary to the way Melanie lived her own life, but she found herself oddly attracted to the quality in him.

"Is there a reason you wanted to come out here so late?" she asked.

"With this whole fight between James and Lily," Sirius said, "I just wanted to spend some time alone with you—let you know that I appreciate you."

Melanie put her hand behind his neck and pulled his head down for a kiss. When they parted, Sirius tilted his head and looked at her. "Bold," he said. "I like it."

Melanie ducked her head when she felt her face heat up.

---

Against her better judgment, Lily Evans found herself quietly opening the sixth year boys' dormitory at two o'clock in the morning. She hadn't been able to get back to sleep after awakening due to a bad dream, and she was in dire need of comfort. She crept over to the curtains surrounding the bed she knew belonged to James and pushed them aside. She knelt next to the bed. "James?" she said, as quietly as she could.

James remained asleep. Lily poked him.

"Huh—what?" James opened his eyes and looked around wildly.

Lily handed him his glasses from the bedside table. After James had gotten them on, he peered closely at Lily and whispered, "Lily? What are you doing here?"

"I—never mind," Lily said, suddenly embarrassed. She turned as if to leave.

James sat up and caught her hand. "Tell me what's wrong."

"I had a nightmare. I don't quite remember what it was about, but it was very frightening." Lily looked hopefully at him. "Do you think I could stay here? Just for a few minutes?"

James's expression softened. "Of course." He moved aside to make room for her.

Lily snuggled close to her boyfriend. "Thanks. I feel better already."

"Anything for you," James said, removing his glasses and settling back under the covers.

Lily touched the crystal locket around her neck. She hadn't been able to open it yet. Her sleepy mind wondered vaguely if maybe James was the key. "You know, I never thought that I'd be in a relationship with you," she murmured. "We were so different, and you drove me _insane_. Still do sometimes," she said, laughing.

"Aren't you glad you changed your mind, though?"

"Not especially," said Lily, an impish look on her face.

"Oh, that hurts," James said, throwing an arm over his forehead and leaning back in a mock dramatic pose.

Lily pushed him and shook her head. "What am I going to do with you?"

---

"James. James, wake up."

"Wha—?" Two hazel slits opened in response to the somewhat muffled voice. "What is it, Moony?" asked James groggily.

"Wake up, it's time for breakfast, and then class." The sound of curtains being pushed aside accompanied the sharper-sounding voice. "I'm not going to take notes for you if you don't get up ri— Merlin's beard! What is Lily doing here?"

"What?" chorused two other voices.

James's eyes shot open. They were greeted by the sight of three boys peering down at him and the girl beside him. Lily was just beginning to stir. She opened her eyes and smiled at James before realizing that they were not alone. Her emerald orbs became very round.

Sirius was smiling smugly. "Why, Mr. Potter, I wasn't aware that you and Miss Evans had come so far already," he commented, mirth in his eyes and voice.

Naïvely, Peter asked James, "Did—did you really… do it?"

Mortified, Lily jumped out of the bed and ran out of the room without saying anything.

James rolled his eyes at the expressions on the other boys' faces. "Don't look so shocked, Remus. Nothing happened, I swear."

---

Lily rushed into the sixth year girls' dormitory to find the others already awake and dressed. The girls exchanged looks. "And where were you all night?" Alyssa asked, a smile on her face.

"None of your business, Parker," Lily said, her face red. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get ready for school." She went to her trunk, hurriedly pulled out her robes, and ran to the bathroom in an attempt to avoid awkward questions. She made a lot of noise, but it wasn't enough to drown out Alyssa's next comment from the other side of the door.

"So how was your night with Mr. James Potter?" Alyssa teased.

"Nothing happened!" yelled Lily.

"So you _did _spend the night with him!"

"No, I—" Lily threw the bathroom door open. Alyssa was standing in front of her, laughing, while Melanie and Victoria were attempting to hide their smiles behind their hands. "I just went to talk to him about a bad dream I'd had, and before I knew it, I'd fallen asleep, all right?"

"Sure." A giggle.

"_Right_…."

"We believe you." Another laugh.

Victoria started, "Dani, this reminds me of the time you—"

"This is pointless."

Four heads turned toward the serious-sounding voice, which appeared to have come from Danielle. The tone of her voice was alien to them.

"I need to grow up," Danielle said gravely. "We all do."

Victoria frowned. "Dani—"

"_Look_, Victoria," her friend said, shoving a newspaper in her face. "Do you see what's going on in the world right now?" Danielle looked around at her roommates. "We're not adults yet, but we will be soon." She allowed herself a short laugh. "I'm probably the least mature of us all, but I think that we need to enter the real world. We've been here at Hogwarts for so long—and it's always been so safe—" She sighed. "We are so _young_."

The girls were listening intently. Their earlier lightheartedness had dissipated.

Danielle took a breath and continued. "This—this whole thing with Kendall—it's helped me realize just how unprepared I am for—for _everything_. Life. I've been so distracted… We're here to learn, aren't we? We'll be graduating in just over a year. We can't afford to be distracted. I don't mean that we shouldn't be romantically involved, but we do need to focus on important things."

Lily walked over to her and put a hand on her arm. "You're right, Danielle. Of course we need to grow up. You're absolutely right. I know that I want to make a difference in the world. And with all that's been happening lately," she said, picking up the newspaper, "I think that I want to stop people like Voldemort. I want to help innocent people." She smiled to herself. "I think I just decided on a career."

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: Sorry if it was a bit choppy. Well, I don't know how many of you are still reading this story, but hopefully those of you who've put this story on Story Alert are happy that it's finally getting updated. Man, it's so hard to continue this story, since I started it so long ago… But I do still intend to finish it. It just might take me a while…


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